There has been an unexpected consequence of "social distancing" on Public Rights Of Way around here; that the PROWs have actually become overgrown despite increased numbers of people walking in the countryside.

Where a PROW is adjacent to a hedge, people have been stepping out into the field on the other side of the path (never mind the crops growing there!); and where a path is between two hedges, they have been going through gaps at field corners, to walk in the field on the other side of a hedge (in one place, a farmer locked the gate, but he seems to have given up now, and the gate is left open). This wasn't so much of a problem last year, but this Summer the trods in the fields have become so established that hardly anyone is using the proper PROW routes, which then become overgrown.

I have been scrupulously staying on the PROWs. I have also been going out with my secateurs on several occasions -- but it's a losing battle. I'm the bloke running around the Leicestershire countryside with bramble scratches on his arms and legs.

Have other people who train on PROWs over agricultural land found similar problems?