Roych

Paul D said:

I understand that reasoning, but really don't believe in laying down and just taking it! The bobblies trespassed in thousands, which certainly wasn't everyone, and I doubt every green laner would care enough to protest, but if large numbers show a depth of feeling then something might give a little!

Dunno exactly what to do yet, I have some ideas, but I do aim to protest somehow about it.

OK, I know TRF and Glass are also trying, but I'm more in favour of a grass roots type approach .. not necessarily backed by organisations that are already known, something that 'Joe Public Green Laner' can be part of. The 'proper' organisations are having minimal effect, merely adding a few months to the TRO's, putting off the inevitable and almost adding to the grinding down and death of our amenities.

Meanwhile I'll carry on laning and P&Ping, though I don't really do much P&P nowadays, got ****ed at the number of un-registered feckwits endangering everyone when I had kids in .. might be different now!!

It seems private land may be the only way to go in the future ...

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Perhaps protests should be aimed at County halls etc rather than on the lanes where numbers only exaggerate the grievances.

blue beasty said:

Perhaps protests should be aimed at County halls etc rather than on the lanes where numbers only exaggerate the grievances.

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Now that would create a stir. parking outside the country halls.

Funkykipper said:

Now that would create a stir. parking outside the country halls.

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You lack imagination sir

blue beasty said:

You lack imagination sir

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I've got enough going on on here to keep my imagination occupied.

Keep me posted guys. No surrender!

MORE CLOSURES ON THE WAY. See this taken from the Matlock Mercury:


A six-week public consultation on whether trail-bikes, quad bikes and 4x4s should be prohibited from Leys Lane near Longstone Edge in the Peak District National Park has been launched.


The consultation, which runs to October 25, is on a proposed Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to exclude motorised vehicles from Leys Lane, a narrow walled byway which runs from Great Longstone near Bakewell to Longstone Edge and Chertpit Lane.

The National Park Authority is making the proposal because of the impact motorised vehicles are having on the special qualities of the national park in this green lane and the surrounding area as well as on other users. At the end of last year Derbyshire County Council resurfaced the lane.

People should give their views through the Authority’s consultation system at Consultations: Peak District National Park Authority where full details may be read before commenting.

People may also see the documents at the Peak District National Park Authority HQ, Aldern House, Baslow Road, Bakewell, DE45 1AE, and send comments to the Rights of Way team at that address.

The Authority has already sought the views of highways authorities, parish councils, recreational user groups and environmental groups. The Audit, Resources and Performance Committee, which will make the decision, has also held a site inspection.

Committee chair Christopher Pennell, who is also a gold member of campaign group Friends of the Peak District, said: “We want to hear everyone’s views before we make our final decision in the light of feedback and evidence.”

Following an earlier public consultation, a Traffic Regulation Order made by the Authority on the Roych, a green lane near Chapel-en-le-Frith, becomes operational on Thursday September 19.

Motorised vehicles such as trail bikes, quad bikes and 4x4s will be excluded from a 3.5km section of the Roych, which is part of the Pennine Bridleway national trail. Some 1,235 people and organisations supported this exclusion, with around 1,000 objections. It does not include motorised disability scooters or farm vehicles.

Mr Pennell added: “Making the order at the Roych was the culmination of a long process but we needed to protect this environmentally-sensitive area of the Dark Peak. We considered the potential for partial restraint but felt that for this route it was important to ensure we adequately safeguarded the route, the special qualities of the area and the amenity of national trail users from the pressure of motorised traffic.”

The committee will consider its options for another green lane, the Long Causeway at Stanage, near Hathersage, at its meeting on Friday September 20. This follows a public consultation earlier this year. A report to the committee on the Long Causeway is available from September 13 at Committees: Peak District National Park Authority

Further information on the Authority’s approach to vehicles in the national park can be found here Recreational motor vehicles in the Peak District: Peak District National Park Authority

blue beasty said:

Perhaps protests should be aimed at County halls etc rather than on the lanes where numbers only exaggerate the grievances.

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That's one of the things I'm thinking about ..

Time doesn't help, I have none at the mo' ..

So what constitutes a farm vehicle?

Does it have to be part of a working farm or can we all rock up in John Deere's and enjoy some twin axle locker laning?

You have to remember that these lanes are not just for 4x4's. if a lane is gated off it affects locals more than you. If by loads of off roaders coming through a farmer or council vehicle gets stuck it causes far more expense.

Still think that on more boggy lanes should carry a couple if 25kg bags of hardcore. If you come across deep ruts. Put it in and photo it. Then if anyone says anything you are repairing damage not making it.

Some people revel in the harder more boggy stuff but forcing your way through only makes it worse

chunkymunky said:

You have to remember that these lanes are not just for 4x4's. if a lane is gated off it affects locals more than you. If by loads of off roaders coming through a farmer or council vehicle gets stuck it causes far more expense.

Still think that on more boggy lanes should carry a couple if 25kg bags of hardcore. If you come across deep ruts. Put it in and photo it. Then if anyone says anything you are repairing damage not making it.

Some people revel in the harder more boggy stuff but forcing your way through only makes it worse

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Yes absolutely, there are elements in this pastime who love to spend six hours winching through mud.

But I think most here have grown out of that.

But trouble is with carrying a couple of bags of mill waste is it reduces room for beer and cake in the tratter.

chunkymunky said:

You have to remember that these lanes are not just for 4x4's. if a lane is gated off it affects locals more than you. If by loads of off roaders coming through a farmer or council vehicle gets stuck it causes far more expense.

Still think that on more boggy lanes should carry a couple if 25kg bags of hardcore. If you come across deep ruts. Put it in and photo it. Then if anyone says anything you are repairing damage not making it.

Some people revel in the harder more boggy stuff but forcing your way through only makes it worse

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This is a very good idea. Part of the problem is not getting caught in negative responses with any type of protest. If we can demonstrate that not only do we not want to lose our right of way but can be a positive benefit to other users it changes the game entirely.

Target sections that are difficult to pass on foot and get it publicised.....we have to get the ramblers, some of them at least, on-side.....they have their own problems with land owners so it's not like we don't have common ground

Heheheh, If any of that's referring to me and the vids I recently posted, you might also note that they weren't on byways, they were forestry tracks!

However, I agree, Byways do need preserving, but for whom? I've never seen a walker not able to get through however deep ruts are .. unless the weather's bad .. and then they wouldn't do it anyway! With the amount and number of footpaths available, why do they insist on saying we are spoiling their fun? It may not be comfortable for them, but so what?

The problem with 'repairing' lanes ourselves is that you're also not allowed to! Any repairs have to be done with consultation and agreement with Highways Agencies or National Park authorities .. without that you may actually contribute to problems by putting the wrong stuff in the wrong pace! It's like well-meaning people dropping logs and branches into ruts for 'traction' .. utter bollocks, wet wood is worse than the mud and can cause broken steering arms and all sorts of other issues .. We come across this a lot in 'wild' places. Having said that, when working parties are arranged and are convenient I've attended them. Again, they are usually done in accordance and with help from 'official' agencies, not in an ad-hoc fashion.

I see two main reasons 'they' close down lanes, 'they' don't actually like people enjoying vehicles, they cost a lot to maintain.

Two solutions, 'They' don't have to use the few Byways available, there are usually similar footpaths or bridleways available. 'They' don't have to maintain them to any great standard, the rougher the better in many cases!

chunkymunky said:

You have to remember that these lanes are not just for 4x4's. if a lane is gated off it affects locals more than you. If by loads of off roaders coming through a farmer or council vehicle gets stuck it causes far more expense.

Still think that on more boggy lanes should carry a couple if 25kg bags of hardcore. If you come across deep ruts. Put it in and photo it. Then if anyone says anything you are repairing damage not making it.

Some people revel in the harder more boggy stuff but forcing your way through only makes it worse

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if your seen putting hardcore on lanes without permission you could be prosecuted for fly tipping

johnlad said:

if your seen putting hardcore on lanes without permission you could be prosecuted for fly tipping

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^^^ what he said. We even had a letter of East Yorks council saying as much when we was in response group. and offered to repair a TRO'd lane.

johnlad said:

if your seen putting hardcore on lanes without permission you could be prosecuted for fly tipping

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Yes it's possible but a lot less likely than driving closed lanes with far less severe consequences and would make a lot more people stop and think about the attitude of the authorities.

If we stick with the 'us' and 'them' and 'fook'um' attitude then as the minority it is us that are fooked

blue beasty said:

Yes it's possible but a lot less likely than driving closed lanes with far less severe consequences and would make a lot more people stop and think about the attitude of the authorities.

I doubt they'd stop and think, more likely they'd simply report us! I would if I saw people dumping piles of hard core .. I certainly wouldn't hang around to see if they spread it or are using it properly ..

If we stick with the 'us' and 'them' and 'fook'um' attitude then as the minority it is us that are fooked

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But we're not 'sticking with' the us and them attitude .. We've been sticking to the codes they put up, the voluntary restraints and all the ****e for years .. I'm beginning to feel, as said, that it's maybe time the worm turned.

'They' seem to forget that we (well I am) are also walkers, campers, horse riders, cyclists etc who also use lanes and footpaths and bridleways, and stick to the rules of each form of leisure.

Strange but each 'group' also seem to think they're persecuted ...

the only way to make people sit up is to increase the catchment area of 4x4'ers.

Offer laning drips to disabled, to the elderly, offer them a day in the country, a trip along "wild and spectacular countryside".
Use that as a lever = "local councils discriminating against the disabled". thats the best chance yu got- not "but we like driving on rutted and flooded cart tracks"

Paul D said:

But we're not 'sticking with' the us and them attitude .. We've been sticking to the codes they put up, the voluntary restraints and all the ****e for years .. I'm beginning to feel, as said, that it's maybe time the worm turned.

'They' seem to forget that we (well I am) are also walkers, campers, horse riders, cyclists etc who also use lanes and footpaths and bridleways, and stick to the rules of each form of leisure.

Strange but each 'group' also seem to think they're persecuted ...

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I'm not disagreeing with you. Just saying it's very easy with any type of protest to do nothing more than re-enforce negative attitudes which will only give the authorities more excuses to close lanes.

I'm not saying roll over and quietly die, I've pushed protesting as far as a prison sentance and I'm acutely aware that a positive slant and/or something that makes people laugh is a more potent weapon than any amount of disruption or noise

I think if you put just stone in the ruts i doubt anyone would moan. Building waste is a different matter.

Any council, forestry etc would just order in a wagon of aggregate to repair tracks.

For instance in wales where slate is order of the day a tonne of broken stone from a quarry divided between a number of vehicles would be a good option.

I'm a walker and a 4x4 driver. (I don't own a bobble hat though) I see damage caused by walkers on very popular routes that is far worse than many of the 'look what the evil offroaders did to our lane' photos the anti's use on their websites.

I assume when they've shut us out of everywhere they'll be campaigning against themselves.