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In England we have few enough places we can legally ride off road. I think in a case like this (signs saying ‘Cyclists dismount’ and the Bridleway fingerpost going missing), I’d be asking the local authority’s Rights Of Way officer to be having a word with the householders. Email addresses for council staff are very easily discoverable on the web and five minutes effort could prevent future problems.
Any other ideas where landowners seem disinclined to allow legal access/use?
Oh, and I’ve come across plenty of obstructions on footpaths (when walking my dog) or bridleways clearly caused by farmers to not simply lay the blame at townies moving to the countryside.
This isn’t meant as a criticism of Chipps or what he did btw
I'm not sure how helpful the row teams are though. In my case I contacted them about supplying the signage at mine after we cleared the row across the place we bought. Went unanswered... Seems like they didn't even want help doing their job. Maybe the team is decimated by cuts I don't know, but it didnt fill me with faith anything would get sorted.
Chipps replied on here -
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/also-in-the-new-mag/
Depends on the RoW guys and council’s attitude I think. I’ve come across super proactive and waiting for retirement. OP is right though, they are always the first port of call.
I can see both sides here. I used to live on an old farm that had been ‘de farmed’ for want if a better description. When it stopped being an active farm, the RoW had been changed and went around the boundary instead of past the kitchen window. Up to date maps and signage reflected this, but ramblers from a nearby town had ancient maps and insisted they were right. It pretty massively ruined the place for me tbh, so I’m very respectful of signs where RoW’s meet people’s property now - although I’d probably check at least later if it was legit. I quite agree there are some who just whack a BS sign up and shout at people, and they do need to be told that’s not ok because otherwise it’s enabling stealth Enclosure.
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Does the loser get the sack?
I've always found the ROW officers near me very responsive on the couple of occasions I've contacted them. Just about to email them about a perfectly serviceable gate on a BW which has been tied shut last few times I've been up there.
When it stopped being an active farm, the RoW had been changed and went around the boundary instead of past the kitchen window
This sort of thing makes good sense. I think we’ve all met ramblers like you’ve described.
We have a footpath near us that goes through the middle of a set of greenhouses, across a parking area between a house and an annex and up the drive. I’d actually rather it was rerouted round the boundary as the current route feels very intrusive.
I’m all for us keeping all the rights of way open, but I don’t mind sensible alterations at all.