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| railway sleepers in garden? |
The Birks were gloomy in dull weather and that's how I remember them from a visit in the dim and distant past, but things brightened up a bit when we emerged on the road to Urlar. A narrow path bounded by a fence and trees led to a track, which I think Martin and SueB trod recently on their current TGO Challenge - but in the opposite direction of course. The road to Urlar is private to vehicles and a sign makes it clear they do not welcome walkers near the farm either.
We didn't go far along the track which follows the Urlar Burn for a large part of the way across open moorland before finally terminating at a small lochan beside the twisting hill road from Amulree to Kenmore. Instead we retraced our steps but kept to the quiet road (the Urlar 'private' I one) down to Aberfeldy and Wade's Bridge across the Tay.
The new Merrell trail shoes were excellent and my Achilles gave me no problems whatsoever. It wasn't exactly a long walk, but had I been wearing my boots I know I would have been in pain. Whether they will be comfortable on a proper hill day remains to be seen, but so far so good.
5 comments:
Shame about the weather. Glad you are pleased with the shoes and I will keep them in mind. How does the Private road etc etc, we don’t want walkers near the farm, lie with the right to roam act. Or do you think it could be pre the act?
The more I use them the more I like them Alan. The Access Legislation does not include ‘curtilage’, and the farm yard would count as that, whereas the fields we crossed which probably belonged to the farm, would not. There have been some legal cases about just what constitutes curtilage and the need for privacy, but I would say it’s obvious what is sensible in most cases.
However, at the bottom of the road there is a sign saying something like ‘ Private. No Access’. He/she should probably have added ‘to vehicles’ because I don’t believe walkers could be stopped from using it. It’s a road not a driveway.
There is no doubt that some landowners have left signage up that pre-dates the Access Code, to discourage those who don’t know any better. ‘Dogs on Leads’ is a common one when ‘on a lead or under control’ is the case. As a dog lover, though no longer a dog owner, I do have some sympathy with landowners on this one because some dog owners are just plain stupid and irresponsible.
To be fair, there was a well maintained and signposted path around the southern perimeter of Urlar Farm. I wish more of our local farmers would provide such routes rather than leave walkers to wrestle with the slurry that mars the paths through their farmyards!
We came through the Birks of Aberfeldy on a lovely day on 17 May. An absolute delight, and one of the highlights of our TGO Challenge route.
Yes Martin, I think we used that path. I well understand farmers wanting to keep walkers away from their farm property, especially if near a ‘Way’ or ‘Trail’. Maybe the farmers in your area use slurry to discourage walkers from going through their yards!
Cheshire is an odd place, Gibson. Whilst one farmer may create permissive paths to help walkers enjoy the experience of crossing his land, the farmer next door may get a kick from coating his pathways in slurry...
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