Winter Walks

In Wales you can exercise (or walk the dog) as frequently as you wish. 

Exercise should start and finish at home. Plenty of cars parked in our local 'Wepre Park'. 

If I wished to walk a dog or take a walk I would drive however ,as I live on a hill and could not walk far around here. Which is permitted in my situation.

On Tuesday next week I have to travel to Leigh, to accompany my daughter to the local clinic along with the grand kids. Her two young sons cannot enter and so I will sit in the car having taken them. I will try and pick up a book for each as the youngest who is autistic can be fractious and it will keep him entertained if there is a delay. If the weather is decent there is a local park nearby and we may well take a walk. No idea on the regs in that regard but, as my youngest is supposed to be shielding it will at least give the kids some fresh air.

I see ITV have a new series. ‘Cornwall and Devon Walks’ with Julia Bradbury, shown on Wednesdays.

It would be nice to get some clarity on what is 'local'. Two young ladies have apparently been fined £200 each by Derbyshire Police for driving five miles in separate cars to a local reservoir to go for a walk, with the Police saying that driving there was not in the spirit  of lockdown. The ladies were also accused of having a picnic as they had taken a drink with them.

As I understand it it is not against the law to do what they did but perhaps does not comply with the recent 'guidance'. A human rights barrister has said that the guidance is not legally binding and therefore can't be enforced. Derbyshire Police have stated that it is up to the individual officer to decide on a case by case basis as the legislation does not proscribe a distance. On that basis some officers might say it's OK to drive what is really quite a short distance whilst others might not. Surely not a good basis for policing.

The BBC have contacted the Cabinet Office, the Home Office, the College of Policing Policies and the National Police Chiefs Council to ask for clarification. None could clarify it. 

Our local NT property Calke Abbey remains open as it is clearly entitled to do under the latest legislation which allows 'Heritage Sites' to be open but anyone except the inhabitants of the very small village in which it is situated would have to drive there. 

If I walk from my house to get exercise I will pass far more people than I would do at either the reservoir where the ladies were or at Calke Abbey with its many hundreds of acres and miles of paths.

All that said, Winter Walks is a lovely programme especially when one has done walks in the areas.

Have been catching up with the Winter Walks on iplayer after seeing this thread, have really enjoyed watching them. Thanks. 🙂

Yes I agree, the Derbyshire police appear to be at it again and have no doubt the fine will be appealed in some way. I think driving 5 miles is acceptable to have exercise. Perhaps over that not? Either the police there are not doing themselves any favours long term.

Her walks are always entertaining and we shall watch the series with interest. Next week is Padstow to Trevone Head, one of our favourites on the north coast. 

Is that specific to Wales? I think we are allowed to venture slightly further afield but would normally avoid driving more than say 3 or 4 miles or so. The rules are not clear, it's been mentioned on another thread that one is allowed to walk with dogs more than once a day though I've found no confirmation of that elsewhere!  

Ask the two ladies who drove 5 miles in separate cats to Foremark Reservoir for a walk and ended up fined £200.

Yes and as I posted above that will probably end up being appealed.

But the rules are:

outdoor exercise. This should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)

So perhaps 5 miles is too far for those officers but it does say a short distance so it is not as you posted that it must be from the door.

The English rules say not to travel outside of your local area for exercise so presumably that is specific to Wales.

Edit: Crossed with Corners.