Consequently, we chose to climb the more modest Coppet Hill, near Goodrich – a walk much nearer home. I described this one back in October 2018, shortly after Stowfield Viaduct was repaired, so will spare you a repeat. If you'd like to read the old post, click here.
As we drove through the Forest I noticed that New Fancy and Speculation car parks were closed. "How odd," I thought. "Perhaps the guy whose job it is to open them has had to self-isolate." How wrong can you be?
Here are some views from the walk; places that didn't feature last time.
Monday's weather was perfect for a ramble; brilliantly sunny but not too hot. Soon, though, thoughts turned to lunch. This is the view from where we ate our picnic, with the houses of Lower Lydbook visible on the other side of the Wye.
Waste not, want not seems an odd sentiment for a drinking point with no tap. It also has a notice declaring that it's not drinking water, so we left it for the horses.
High on Coppet Hill now, this is the view of Goodrich, 380 feet below us.
Finally, from a little further along the ridge of Coppet Hill, here is Huntsham Bridge and the road to Symonds Yat. The aftermath of the recent floods is still in evidence. Rocklands Farm, in the trees next to the bridge, must have been a very damp place indeed.
For the record, our efforts at self-isolation were successful. Only 2 people passed us (at the prescribed 6ft separation) and we saw one other walker in the distance. On returning home and reading the BBC News website, the reason for those car parks being closed became clear, though the number of cars we saw clogging every available off-road pull-in did cause me to question the wisdom of Forest England's action.
Now, as this dreadful C-19 virus rages around us, we must stay at home, except for essential shopping and one form of daily exercise. Is an 8½ mile ramble, 11 miles from home in the spirit of that restriction? Perhaps not, and I must be content with 10,000 steps on forest tracks nearer home.
It's almost a moral question, whether one should drive off to a distant (but people-free) place and then walk. I'm discussing it in a forthcoming post, because I've been doing it, and not without some misgivings which need exploration in a post. For now I think that (a) you are very effectively socially distanced inside a car, and there are no restrictions on car fuel, so using a car to go to somewhere not too far away ought to be fine; and (b) if you stick exclusively to your local roads you will get bored with them, and then might not bother with exercise at all, which would be bad. Not everyone has a car, so using it for a change of scene is rather a privilege. Perhaps the right balance is to say this: those withour cars need the local streets, and if you can stay out of them, and drive off somewhere, then you give the carless a better chance to exercise safely.
ReplyDeleteLucy
Lucy, this article has appeared in several newspapers (my italics):
ReplyDelete"Police say you are not allowed to get into your car and drive to a location to walk your dog or take exercise. Officers have been stopping people to issue advice and hand out information in a bid to enforce the lockdown rules.
The rules from the Government which came into force on Monday state that you may only leave your home for four reasons. As well as medical errands, essential shopping and absolutely essential work you can leave your home once a day to exercise.
Now police are making it clear that exercise has to be done from your home - you are not allowed to drive to another location to either exercise or walk your dog.