Annagain
Well-Known Member
We had a new permissive bridleway open up in the area so a friend and I went to give it a try. The start was well signposted so off we went but we got to a fork in the track with no signs to tell us which way to go. We knew roughly the way it headed and the right hand track made sense so we opted for that one. It opened up into about 5 lovely big fields which followed the path of the river. We had a lovely canter, all the while thinking how wonderful this new path was. At the end of the 5th field, we reached a fence and the signposted bridlepath was the other side of it. The path actually went through the woods along the top of those fields and then dropped down the other side of the fence into the river at a crossing point. It was at this point we realised we had taken the wrong fork. Going back round would have taken about an extra 1/2 an hour but the only way across the river was a rickety old wooden bridge, the banks were too steep to get down to cross the river. We decided to get off, then I crossed the bridge, before my friend sent the horses over one at a time to meet me at the other side.
Feeling smug that we were now the right side of the river with all 4 of us still alive, we got back on and looked for a way to rejoin the path we should have been on. There wasn't one. Luckily there was a broken stile (I suspect other riders had been in the same situation as us, had tried the same solution and hit it) so, instead of being about 4' high was probably only about 2'9". We decided to jump it but the only problem was my friend's mare was decidedly temperamental about jumping. Our only option was for me to go first and keep cantering the other side so she'd be more concerned at being left behind! She eventually made it over at the 4th attempt by which point I was about 1/2 a mile up the next field - luckily back on the bridlepath.
About a week later we went back to try the proper path and bumped into a warden for the Woodland Trust who asked us if we'd known of anyone cantering through the fields as dog walkers had been complaining about seeing hoof prints where they shouldn't be. We said it was the first time we'd been there, walked to the fork in the path (only about 30m away) and then innocently went back to the warden to ask him which way to go as it wasn't clear and maybe that's why people ended up in the fields. He told us the way and agreed a sign was needed there. The next time we were there it was very clearly signposted.
Feeling smug that we were now the right side of the river with all 4 of us still alive, we got back on and looked for a way to rejoin the path we should have been on. There wasn't one. Luckily there was a broken stile (I suspect other riders had been in the same situation as us, had tried the same solution and hit it) so, instead of being about 4' high was probably only about 2'9". We decided to jump it but the only problem was my friend's mare was decidedly temperamental about jumping. Our only option was for me to go first and keep cantering the other side so she'd be more concerned at being left behind! She eventually made it over at the 4th attempt by which point I was about 1/2 a mile up the next field - luckily back on the bridlepath.
About a week later we went back to try the proper path and bumped into a warden for the Woodland Trust who asked us if we'd known of anyone cantering through the fields as dog walkers had been complaining about seeing hoof prints where they shouldn't be. We said it was the first time we'd been there, walked to the fork in the path (only about 30m away) and then innocently went back to the warden to ask him which way to go as it wasn't clear and maybe that's why people ended up in the fields. He told us the way and agreed a sign was needed there. The next time we were there it was very clearly signposted.
