ADAM HENSON
MUTUAL RESPECT IS KEY FOR FARMERS AND WALKERS
Through mutual respect, walkers and farmers can help each other.
Everyone knows the old clichéd image of the British farmer – a red-faced middle-aged man waving his fists and shouting “get orf my land”. Of course, the reality is very different. There may be one or two shouty types left, but the vast majority of farmers welcome walkers to the public footpaths across their land.
In a fast-moving world where our lives have never been busier or more digitally driven, we know that easy access to the countryside has huge benefits for mind, body and soul. That’s been obvious during the pandemic, when a walk in the country was a lifeline for so many. But there’s a bonus for farmers too. When people see livestock grazing in the distance or walk past crops growing in the fields, it reconnects them to agriculture and the producers who put food on their tables. British agriculture has a great story to tell about provenance, animal husbandry and conservation, so I’ve always believed farming is best done when it’s visible and transparent.
In fact, some farmers have gone further and created their own walking routes in addition to public rights of way. Many years ago, we did just that on our tenanted farm in the Cotswolds when we established a two-mile Wildlife Walk. The signposted route takes in farmland, wildflower meadows, grassland and scrub that provides a home
for the nationally scarce Duke of Burgundy butterfly and a rare flower, the Cotswold pennycress.
Like farmers all over the UK who have opened up similar trails, I’m incredibly proud to be able to share the landscape
I love with visitors. But with access comes responsibility. Land managers should make sure that rights of way are open and undiverted, while walkers are expected to stay away from livestock and keep paths litter-free, among other things. It’s part of a delicate balance between allowing everyone the freedom to enjoy open spaces on the one hand and protecting property and farming livelihoods on the other.
LEGAL PROTECTIONS
All this is generally thought of as being a sort of unwritten rule between walkers and farmers. Except it’s not unwritten at all.
Laws exist in England and Wales, with separate legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland, that uphold the right to use public footpaths and bridleways, as well as setting out protections for the people who own and manage the land.
Then there’s the Countryside Code, with its instructions about keeping dogs under control, giving horses a wide berth and leaving gates as you find them. This list of ‘dos and don’ts’ first appeared almost 90 years ago under various names, including the ‘Country Code’ and ‘A Code of Courtesy’; it was joined in the 1940s by the Ramblers’ Code. It has been revised and relaunched numerous times and was the subject of a public information film shown on TV in the 1970s. In the past decade, the code has had barely any publicity but, just before Easter, the Government published an updated version to reflect the renewed interest in outdoor exercise.
Most walkers have the highest respect for the environment but the ugly truth is that over the past year a small minority has been responsible for an unacceptable rise in littering, crop trampling and dog attacks on sheep. No farmer wants to ‘police’ paths, so I’m hoping the promotion of the refreshed Countryside Code will do the trick. Here’s to a summer of happy hiking!