[HappyHippy]

yes your roads round you are very narrow for riding horses  but you don't have the right to ride on farmers fields even with the right to roam act i think i am right in saying you (or any horse rider ) are barred from ridding in farmers fields without permission

Yes you are right.

I'd second that.
The only time it's allowed is if there is a current right of way or bridleway through the field.

The open access code says you can go through fields (on foot & with your dog on a lead) providing it's safe for you to do so, doesn't cause damage to crops or risk to livestock and you keep to the field edges.
Karen 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Its a tricky one - here in Scotland horseriders have the same access rights as walkers/cyclists. Which is easier here as there are fewer people/less pressure on crowded land. It helps riders notm just have more places to ride but also to protect erosion of original ride routes; as it stops what happens in England. There motorists dont want horses on the roads, farmers dont want them on the fields and councils dont want to stump up for alternatives and put money solely into foot or foot/cycle routes only. Even routes used for years without problems are suddenly remove on a whim - the proposed ban (despite no incidents of problems over 30 years!) on horses on the ex railway line Alban way in Herts being a good example.

But the law is the law and based on the law down south there is NO right to ride on a field without permission, so it is not reasonable to slate someone for enforcing their legal right, only to campaign for the law to be changed or for the council to do something about the dangerous road (eg where we used to live, the single track lane is being considered for being blocked at one end due to rat running) or to create a safe off road route.

Also bear in mind some farming payments are threatened if the grassland is damaged eg by being cut up by hooves. While he might not mind one offs, the trouble is other riders see the one using it and then everyone does. And the gate may be locked to stop it being stolen or the field occupied by travellers or used for fly tipping - certainly that was the main reason for locked gates where we used to be.

Alternativel of course the farmer could just be a miserable so and so, and enjoy being unhelpful. But in the end, south of the border, buying the field is the only way to get to ride in it (altho of course that breaks planning rules too in some eyes!)

[bazzais]

We have paths all round us, and I am torn between them being positive or negative.  It all depends on the afternoon and the mood I am in. - and what happens.

The path that runs through our yard brings in campers and increases our business in summer - but it also involves lots of walkers getting lost and trudging around lost all the time.
I am proud of where I live and like to share it - but sometimes I get a little pissed off when someone parks in an area I need free or people keep talking at me.
I trust people to close and tie a gate most the time - but their knots are never as good as mine.

We padlock one gate on our border and the other is fitted with a real gate that works and has locks and stuff - so there is no excuse for leaving it open.

Baz

[robert waddell]

woo oh there lachlanandmarcus      you say walkers/cyclists have the same rights as horse riders    yes on paths designated bridleways etc BUT NOT OPENING A GATE AND CANNTERING ABOUT OR WALKING THERE BIKE TO THE TOP OF A HILL AND CYCLING BACK DOWN    next the 4x4 brigade will be laying claim to there bit of unspoiled field

[egglady]

oooh interesting can of worms here me thinks.......according to the British Horse Society - who arguably know what they are talking about - advise that the Countryside Access Code DOES allow horse riders exactly the same rights as walkers ie riders can go through fields, etc...however, the code also states that sense should be applied and to me that means, not mashing up folks fields - so no riding when wet and horrible underfoor, etc, etc. and never ever riding in a field with livestock or crops.

this is only in scotland and i think things are different in the rest of the uk.....

and as we are in a teeny wee bit of Fife where there are only a few people who would ride then i dont think it's too much of an issue.....oh and said farmer lets the bleeding HUNT ride through his land..........cos he is pals with the hunt master....erm me thinks that 60 odd horses galloping through his fields are gonna do a whole lot more damage than me 'n' me pal riding our 2 steady ponies around his end rigs.....

rant over...he's just an old git as far as i'm concerned.......and as for caring about the environment...he's just applied to erect 2 x 100ft wind turbines...and didnt tell a soul locally - hoping we wouldnt find out till it was too late to do anything about it...

[robert waddell]

if the land owner can prove that damage was caused by horseriders or cyclists (it would take a hell of a lot of people walkink in a straight line to cause damage) you are liable for the cost of reinstatement
when the hunt used to come round here i must say they were very carefull not to damage fields etc it still did not stop my neighbour complaining and the hunt stopping the anti hunt demonstrators did not help either(students on a sat for a £5 beer money) funny how the Tuesday hunt never had any demonstrations and these bams did not bother about fences fields locals just themselves
on the windmills it should be made public when an application goes in  falkirk district has scuppered a big application  but they will probably appeal it and win   but they were big ones

[deepinthewoods]

a locked gate never stopped a traveller.

[doganjo]

.he's just applied to erect 2 x 100ft wind turbines...and didnt tell a soul locally - hoping we wouldnt find out till it was too late to do anything about it...

I don't know if the planning rules are the same for wind turbines as for houses but nowadays there is no 'neighbour notification'.  The way it works now is that an advert is put in the local press announcing that an application has been made and giving details. I believe they draw a 20m circle round the curtilege and if there are dwellings they are notified but otherwise it's left to the advert.  I know because I've just paid for mine to go in the P & J.

[VSS]

As far as I know right to roam only applies to specifed areas - itis not a general carte blanche to go whereever you like. Most  RtoR areas are marked on up to date OS maps. I some of our land falls in the RtoR area and some doesn't. I would be very surprised if it gave free access to riders as well as walkers, but I don't know for sure.

[JEP]

there was a talk about  right of ways a lawyer stated a right of way is a walk way
maintained by the local council like pavements

[SallyintNorth]

I am certain that in England 'open access land' is open to walkers only (following the country code.)

It is a huge worry to farmers and we are all just waiting for the first insurance claim...

[plumseverywhere]

We have a few worries as our land in the past (before we moved in) was regularly entered over a  period of time after it was featured on 'badgerwatch' on the BBC. Some people from Birmingham were eventually arrested having broken in several times to take badgers from the set for badger baiting (I think it is?)
there was also a saxon skeleton with jewellery worth an awful lot excavated from land a few metres from our own and we've had so many people say to us that there is hidden treasure on our own land but, if anyone has any ideas of looking for it having read this...THERE IS NONE THERE!!!

[manian]

there was a talk about  right of ways a lawyer stated a right of way is a walk way
maintained by the local council like pavements

unfortunately not
we have a bridleway through our small holding ( well microholding) and have been informed that we have to maintain it.
we were thinking of having the first bit with  tarmac aas we drive to our garage , they (the bridleway people from the council) will not fund but will state the type we can use.......

Mx

[robert waddell]

English law is different to Scots law and access
Scotland has a right to roam act THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE CURTILLAGE OF YOUR HOUSE
everybody has access to the land but you cannot damage the land or crops  so other than walking your barred there is specified walkways and bridle ways but no access to vehicles other than utilities unless by request

[sabrina]

I keep the gate by the roadside locked as holiday makers would open the gates and go in to speak to the ponies, not always shutting them right. I do not object to anyone coming up to the house and asking if they can see the ponies as I can talk ponies all day. When I did ride I was very lucky that my neighbour was kind enough to allow me to use his big field next to me once the crop was off saving me a winter of riding on a slippy road. I never go onto any land without asking as I think it is only the polite thing to do. Now my dogs get the fun of his big field all winter.