It makes no sense to punish walkers for seeking wider, emptier spaces

sir – Since the lockdown I have been taking a 10-minute drive to our local woods to give my spaniel (and myself) a daily walk.

On Friday, however, heeding the edicts from the Government and the deputy chief medical officer, I did not drive and instead walked to my nearest open space. I live in the centre of town and tried, as far as possible, to use the backstreets. I encountered 35 people on the way to my destination – and, once there, I stopped counting when I reached 50.

On Saturday, I resumed my woodland walk. I saw just four people from a distance.

Marlow, Buckinghamshire

sir – Public support for these unprecedented restrictions on liberty will only be maintained if they are seen to be applied reasonably.

Closing the gardens of the National Trust, using police drones to prevent people driving to the countryside to walk, and stopping cyclists using the

Royal Parks do not meet this requirement. Chris Fowkes

London SW19

sir – I fear people are missing the point regarding the safety of driving to a nice deserted area for exercise.

While it is unlikely that they will catch the virus in such places, if they have an accident on the way, or fall and break a leg, they will be diverting our strained emergency services. Dione Roberts

Worcester

sir – It is easy to accuse police of being officious when they stop people wandering in open spaces, but they are simply interpreting the coronavirus guidance correctly.

People who ignore this advice may be compared with those who go sailing or mountaineering in bad weather and expect others to risk life and limb to rescue them when things go wrong. John Pritchard

Ingatestone, Essex sir – I have seen photos of officers stopping and interrogating motorists. In many cases, it is clear that they are failing to maintain safe social distancing from a driver or passenger, sometimes standing less than a metre from an open car window.

The police deserve our full support in difficult circumstances, but they must practise what they preach. Nick Timms

Newark, Nottinghamshire

sir – I suggest the safest way to walk on the pavement (Letters, March 28) is the way they do in the countryside: facing oncoming traffic.

If we all did this, it would eliminate the risk of cross-contamination from people walking in the opposite direction. Quicker walkers or runners could, provided it is safe to do so, venture into the road when they want to overtake, thus enabling them to maintain at least two metres’ separation.

Dr Gordon L Thomas

Worcester Park, Surrey