Cycling UK Forum

Mick F wrote:Maybe the law is the same then?

I just know it's worded differently.

Nope. As said in the post above in the south "Landowners have the power to make trespassers leave, by reasonable force if needed.". In Scotland the public have the right to walk and cycle anywhere other than specific exceptions like private gardens. Landowners own the land they don't own the access.

Even if we have the right to access these forests after the sell-off, landowners will not be under any obligation to enable that access, nor to provide nice picnic tables, and maintained pathways, and dog bins, and birdwatching hides, and parking spaces, and stiles, and gates, and cycle tracks.

We will be perfectly entitled to carefully scale an eight foot fence, causing no damage, to go for a nice woodland walk.

Wrote to my MP today for the first time ever. The forests belong to us, not to the government, and they have no mandate to sell them off. They cost 30p per person per year in taxation and they might well cost us more once we've sold them... http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.p ... k=hp_sauce

As well as providing brilliantly for a diverse range of users,... http://www.forestry.gov.uk/england-cycling, http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/ourw ... erWatching, http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/ourw ... tforAdults, http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/ourw ... eMindsLive, the Forestry Commission are the best environmental stewards of woodland in the country... http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf ... 2900411FB4

Graham

I know threads go off-topic, and perhaps we have now lost interest in subsidising motorists, but perhaps posts about the selling of forests could be moved to the "Forrestry Commission Sell Off" thread viewtopic.php?f=6&t=46480 ?

"and dog bins"

That would be an idea I fully approve of.

snibgo wrote:I know threads go off-topic, and perhaps we have now lost interest in subsidising motorists, but perhaps posts about the selling of forests could be moved to the "Forrestry Commission Sell Off" thread viewtopic.php?f=6&t=46480 ?

Sorry about that, and I did already cut and paste it to there. Got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about this one and got carried away off topic. Is there a way to mod edit this exchange out so it just leaves the link to the forest thread?

Thanks,
Graham

irc wrote: ........ In Scotland the public have the right to walk and cycle anywhere other than specific exceptions like private gardens. Landowners own the land they don't own the access.

That's not the way I understand it.

The public don't have The Right of access. They are Allowed access, but not by Right. The allowance can be taken away with ease by any landowner that wants to.

Same as the rest of the UK perhaps.

Mick F wrote:

irc wrote: ........ In Scotland the public have the right to walk and cycle anywhere other than specific exceptions like private gardens. Landowners own the land they don't own the access.

That's not the way I understand it.

The public don't have The Right of access. They are Allowed access, but not by Right. The allowance can be taken away with ease by any landowner that wants to.

Same as the rest of the UK perhaps.

No, in Scotland there's now a statutory right, dating from the 2003 Land Reform Act. Very different from the CRoW Act in England and Wales.

2003? That explains it.

My knowledge was Old Knowledge!

Malaconotus wrote:We will be perfectly entitled to carefully scale an eight foot fence, causing no damage, to go for a nice woodland walk.

Again what is needed is access laws like Scotland. Landowners here are not allowed to erect fences or lock gates to prevent access.

I'm still suprised that the people's party was in power in Westminster for the last 13 years but didn't sort this out whereas the Scottish Parliament managed it in 4 years.

irc wrote:

Malaconotus wrote:We will be perfectly entitled to carefully scale an eight foot fence, causing no damage, to go for a nice woodland walk.

Again what is needed is access laws like Scotland. Landowners here are not allowed to erect fences or lock gates to prevent access.

I'm still suprised that the people's party was in power in Westminster for the last 13 years but didn't sort this out whereas the Scottish Parliament managed it in 4 years.

Cycling derived almost no benefit from the CRoW Act in England and Wales. This was a major failure by the recreational cycling lobby - there won't be another chance for a generation. By contrast, the equivalent legislation in Scotland gives cyclists exactly the same access rights as walkers.

irc wrote:I'm still suprised that the people's party was in power in Westminster for the last 13 years but didn't sort this out

i'm not shocked. they couldn't even introduce the 22oz glass

Nutsey wrote:Happiness and health go hand in hand, as proved by studies into the area of the world where people are most likely to live to over 100 years. Does correlate with wealth, but not as much as you think. its more about social structure and how we treat old people - or more importantly how old people treat themselves. Booze, nuts, and light exercise helps too, oh and believing in god.

If I believed in any god(s) I'd be even more disgusted with the state of the world than I am now.

(To clarify why- any god(s) which lets(s) some of the things happen that do happen in this world would have to be a sadistic (I'm sure I'm not allowed to say the words on here).