Lack of rideable land

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vikkibeth

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Is anyone else finding it increasingly hard to find places to ride? We have just found that our fields area has just been eaten up by a new farmer who doesn't want riders on their field so all of my routine rides have gone. Road riding by us is terrible too, drivers increasingly make it harder for you to ride. Now my only option is bring my horses out in the trailer which makes an hour ride into a lot longer :-(. All very sad.
 
I know how you feel! We have no hacking by us now either, even going out in the trailer the nearest place i can think of is about half an hour away atleast, weve aparently got part of the penine bridleway not too far from us only nobody atall can seem to figure out where!
 
Would creating your own toll rides be possible? www.tollrides.org.uk

The charity helps you to create routes, you pay a subscription and the farmer gets a bit of income................... Works well in lots of places.
 
Contact your council ROW officer, it might be possible to develop a plan for safe off road routes for vulnerable road users eg pedestrians and cyclists and horseriders. The council should have as part of their local plan a section on improving facilities for these groups.
 
If you want more off road riding in your area then you will need to be pro-active and do something about it. I would suggest that you take the first step by contacting your local county BHS bridleway officer who will be only too pleased to help you.
 
I know the feeling :( There's a massive main road being built slap bang in the middle of all the good fields for hacking through. There's a playing field we're allowed to ride around the edge of, but aside from that, there's just roadwork :(
 
vikkibeth said:
Is anyone else finding it increasingly hard to find places to ride? We have just found that our fields area has just been eaten up by a new farmer who doesn't want riders on their field so all of my routine rides have gone. Road riding by us is terrible too, drivers increasingly make it harder for you to ride. Now my only option is bring my horses out in the trailer which makes an hour ride into a lot longer :-(. All very sad.
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Are you saying that you used the fields with permission and that has now been taken away, or you just rode through them with no permission?
Or are you saying they were bridle paths? :confused:
 
Hi, we rode through them with permission from the previous farmer but he's since retired :-( so a new farmer has taken over his farmland but has stressed he has no time for us horsey people and doesn't want us on any of his fields. This cuts our riding down to one track out and means we can no longer get to the nearest bridleway :-(
 
vikkibeth said:
Hi, we rode through them with permission from the previous farmer but he's since retired :-( so a new farmer has taken over his farmland but has stressed he has no time for us horsey people and doesn't want us on any of his fields. This cuts our riding down to one track out and means we can no longer get to the nearest bridleway :-(
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Don't despair just yet. I used to have such a farmer as a field neighbour. When I spoke to him and gave him a beer and cake, he was practically begging for me to livery in his fields! I remember other horse owners in the area slagging him off because he hated them, but I don't think any of them offered cake... So, as an individual, I would go and see him armed with beer and cake, introduced yourself and ask if he would be interested in you paying a toll to ride around his fields responsibly. Offer help at harvest time (or lambing/calving) or anything you can see on the farm (if your OH is in a trade, pimp them out!). If he refuses, then accept gracefully, but leave your number and ask if he'll think about it, as it's a lovely place and you hate holding people up on the roads, etc etc. Make sure you smile and wave if you see him on the road, too!
 
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