PROTECTING FOOTPATHS
I read a very interesting article by Sara Maitland in the July 2017 issue of BBC Countryfile Magazine about the ancient rights of public footpaths. It was of interest to me because many footpaths have been lost around the village I live in, Old Buckenham in Norfolk.
I’m in dispute with Norfolk County Council, which is responsible for several footpaths that have disappeared recently; I quoted the section of Sara Maitland’s article which stated that the landowner has a duty to maintain the footpaths and may not plant crops on them. The response from Norfolk County Council was that this is incorrect, and that farmers are entitled to plough over footpaths and plant crops on them. We have therefore lost more public footpaths that had been available to walkers until autumn 2017.
Can you confirm if I can rely on Sara Maitland’s view of walkers’ rights, and also, help me find out where I can get further assistance in dealing with this issue? Nicholas Smith, Norfolk Stephen Russell, policy and advocacy officer, The Ramblers, replies: With agriculture the primary land use in the UK, landowners and farmers play a vital role in shaping and caring for the countryside that is enjoyed by millions of people each year. Their actions are also critical in ensuring people can access the outdoors. They have a number of legal responsibilities when it comes to public rights of way. In very broad terms, they should ensure that any paths that cross their land are kept open and easy to use. When it comes to footpaths and bridleways running across fields, landowners and farmers can plough or disturb the path surface where this is unavoidable. They should, however, make sure the right of way remains apparent on the ground, and the path should be restored within 24 hours of the disturbance, or within two weeks if this is the first such disturbance for a particular crop. Landowners and farmers should not cultivate footpaths or bridleways that follow the edges of fields and there are minimum widths that should be kept undisturbed (1.5m for field-edge footpaths, 3m for bridleways). Landowners have other responsibilities, such as keeping routes clear of obstructions and vegetation and, with the assistance of local authorities, the maintenance of stiles and gates. These legal obligations for public rights of way play an important role in enabling people to enjoy the outdoors, and every local authority has a duty to enforce them.
THE TRUTH ABOUT SLAUGHTER
Ellie Harrison tackled the delicate and controversial subject of abbatoirs with sound common sense and sensitivity (October issue). Whether we like to be reminded of it or not, if we see fit to eat meat, we are killers by proxy.
Because of the time I was born and the area I was brought up in, my peers and I were fully aware of the stages of meat production, from farm to plate. We knew that pigs would end up as pork and bacon, sheep as lamb or mutton, and ultimately all farm animals would take their last walk through the slaughterhouse door.
As children, we were fascinated by the local livestock market and spend most market days there during the school holidays. The town had two butchers, each with their own slaughterhouse. One happened to be behind the market and it was easy for us to peer over the half door to see what was going on inside. As long as we behaved, our presence was tolerated.
This was before the days of the ‘killing crush’. The cattle had a stout rope placed around their necks with a knot to prevent strangulation and were winched down to a steel ring set in the floor. This completely immobilised them and ensured a quick, clean kill. I feel these experiences gave my friends and me a broader outlook on life and death. We were not traumatised or mentally scarred – it was all part of our life and times. We certainly knew what our food looked like, living and dead, before it turned up on our plates. L Holt, Hailsham, East Sussex
A CALL FOR ACTION ON LITTER
I read with dismay Brian Edge’s letter concerning all the litter on Chesil Beach (December 2018). I completed the South West Coast Path last summer but didn’t walk on the beach as it was nesting time. However, I saw plenty of what he found on other sections of the path. Couldn’t Countryfile or Mr Edge organise a massive Chesil Beach clean-up before storms send half this rubbish out to sea? A big publicity drive by the magazine might help. It sounds horrendous.
It grieves me to see what people discard so thoughtlessly, and in the countryside, too. If some of the population never drop litter – I never have – then why do others? (See our feature on litter, page 46.) Lorrie Forman, Melton Mowbray
SARSEN STONES CORRECTION
I very much enjoy reading your magazine and Sara Maitland’s opinion page is a particular favourite. However, after reading the December 2018 issue I must correct her on one point.
She tells us Stonehenge’s sarsen stones, weighing over 22 tonnes, came from South Wales; in fact, most archaeologists believe they came from a quarry quite near Stonehenge. It was the bluestones from the Preseli mountains in Pembrokeshire that were brought from so many miles away. Even though these stones were not of the huge size and weight of the sarsen stones, it was still a logistical triumph for these people. Donna Llewellyn-Kear, via email