Should we have to fight for our right to roam Corsham footpaths?

Corsham walkers may have to fight to keep using public footpaths if faced with the kind of attitude often encountered when roaming the designated public footpaths.

I’m a keen dog walker and so I often use public footpaths, one that cuts across a long stretch of grass with a crumbling road in the middle that looks like the usual by-way used by horse riders with no sign posts indicating it is private property. 

I was confronted by a woman who sped up to me in her car, giving me just enough time to pull the dogs from the on-coming vehicle, only to be verbally attacked. The woman appeared displeased that I had followed the public footpath onto her land. The woman then threatened to set her dog on my own two and said, “there will be a dog fight,” before speeding off. 

The land in question is a dilapidated stretch of road between two other fields, overgrown and often used by the friendly dog owners in the neighbourhood. Going through this lane, which is but seven metres across, is the only access to the next stretch of the public footpath which has been clearly signposted as the route across by our local authority. 

With the majority of other public footpaths now blocked by electric fences or packed with livestock, there are few other places to let your dogs have a good run in a safe and open environment with no danger to animals grazing or the dogs. 

If you have encountered any problems on public footpaths, the Ramblers Association can help. On their website, they give the following advice: “Broken stiles? Barbed wire fences? Vicious dogs? Whatever the obstruction you encountered, use our online reporting tool.” You can report public footpaths to the Ramblers who lobby to local authorities to resolve these path problems. 

We have a right to roam and it is the people who use these public footpaths that fight to keep green belts from being built upon and that keep these paths open for the general public to enjoy. What kind of town would we live in if selfish land owners blocked off our rights of way for good?