Escaping to the country is not a bed of roses
IT AMUSES me how city dwellers are lulled into a false sense of what living in the countryside (Mail) is all about. TV programmes such as Escape To The Country are much to blame. If you decide to move out of a city into the country, you must be made aware that you are moving into an industrial area. And that industry is farming. Continual pressures on food prices over the decades have forced farmers to seek ways to make their industry more efficient, and this has taken a number of routes, particularly in investment in very expensive farm machinery. Farms have been obliged to amalgamate to make better use of capital equipment. In many cases, as many as ten farms are run by one family. People on country roads increasingly find themselves behind a slow-moving tractor. So having proudly washed and polished your car, you’ll often find that was pointless, as there is an inch of mud on the road where farmers have been moving equipment from field to field, especially just after a period of rain. If you’re retiring to the country, you might at last buy that motorcycle you always promised yourself. But be careful because just around the next bend will be all sorts of rubbish on the road which, though they are legally obliged to clear up, farmers rarely do. Estate agents present a picture of peace and tranquillity, but today’s countryside is far from that. Expect a tractor towing a noisy trailer past your door at 5am. A cul-de-sac in suburban Bexley will grant you a quieter existence than anywhere near the farming industry. In a city, you can enjoy transport and other facilities far beyond any you’ll get in the sticks, where you’ll have to travel miles for basic needs. In remote locations, personal transport is essential, and once your mobility is lost, you’ll be totally isolated. Country roads are now just as congested as those in the city. If you plan to visit any relatives whom you left in town, be prepared to travel on one of our many gridlocked motorways. Fifty years ago, the countryside was something to be desired. Now, in 2016, it’s little different from the noisiest parts of any city.
PETER TARRANT, Weymouth, Dorset.