Walking through pastoral land requires care to close gates or, more securely for sheep and cattle, care over fences. Stiles are diverse in style. Kissing gates tricky too.
In Australia we wouldn’t be permitted to walk through paddocks of sheep and cattle on private property. Yet in UK, members of the public have rights of access to certain areas of land called ‘open access land’ under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, commonly known as the ‘right to roam’ or ‘freedom to roam’. Walkers, runners, climbers and watchers of wildlife don’t have the right to walk freely over agricultural land or privately-owned land but there’s often a path and always the requirement to keep to it. The penalty for trespassing is three months in prison or 2,500 pounds.
Not closing a gate could cause huge problems and costs for the landowners. We chat about the possibilities and the delight that we’re allowed to walk.