General Chat

Sharron, they don't deliberately try to feed the wood ants - but many rather foolishly find the ant humps just the right height for having a rest on - so the wood ants tend to end up biting them! :-S

Sharron, you are right that 4x4's don't need tarmac tracks. I'll probably not be popular for saying this but my son runs a 4x4 events business and goes to the lake district (amongst other areas) about 3 times a year. He is a responsible 4x4 driver who has his company name on the side of his vehicle so doesn't do anything wrong as he can be easily identified and the tracks he uses are actually unclassified "roads". Some walkers complain to him about being there but as these tracks are actually roads he says he and his customers pay their road tax and are entitled to be there. If a track gets closed by a road traffic order he is happy to comply with this.

He has a lot of older customers who wouldn't get to such lovely places without 4x4's. He's been trading for a long time and is very responsible and considerate to other uses of the tracks.

Kath. x

How silly.

Isn't the idea of a 4x4 that it is for use on rough terrain and doesn't need tarmac roads?

The massive problem with the Lake District is they are putting Tarmac roads in so 4 x 4 wheel vehicles can get in.which was shown on tv last night.

I personally think it's bloody disgusting to be doing the roads in the middle of the Lake district,

Which walkers/guests want to be run over by bloody 4 x 4 cars which would make the Lake District a death trap for everyone.

Just keep it to the way it used to be.

Do people try to feed the wood ants then Maggie?

Hazel bushes, walnut trees, nut allergies. Oh dear, can't bear to think about it.

I would have been about 11, walking with a friend in the forest a kind gentleman told us not to go down that track as an adder was there...of course we ignored him... :-D

Sharron never thought of that good point...and what about agoraphobics should they be forced there or should there be special places for them?

:-D :-D :-D

Similarly all those loose ponies, donkeys, deer and cows (along with the adders and wood ants) are an obvious 'hazard' to visitors to the New Forest, Dartmoor or Exmoor!
Despite signs warning people not to feed them.
I was once caught up in a 'stampede' in the New Forest. I stood behind a tree.
The ponies went past me, not one pony decided to return from their panic to kick me!

Dartmoor ponies - much more vicious. A few choice words shouted angrily in it's face got rid of the one trying to bite me, when I was playing hide and seek (I was 10)

Actually, neither were as anti-social as the Welsh Cob I went to ride, (again, aged 10) with my friend (who new it). Darned thing chased me up a tree, and tried to follow me :-0
I didn't bother riding it.
Actually, I don't much like equine type beasts :-(

Ah but Allan according to the PC people we should all go everywhere whether we want to or not :-D

It would be nice if the New Forest and other areas (I bet the Lake district is included) didn't just plant pines but do some more native trees...no such thing as too many trees.

Surely all that water must make the Lake District very dangerous for those who can't swim.

I did - we need more trees!

Ex theme parks in the UK:

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/abandoned-theme-parks-around-uk-17065527

A poor choice of words on my part, Maggie, obviously the original New Forest is the Genuine one, but you obviously caught my drift :-D

Brilliant idea, Allan! :-D :-D :-D

Caroline, not everyone wants to visit the Lakes; not everyone wants to visit Disneyland. I certainly don't!

Unfortunately, many on the various Boards or Committees which look after the various areas of outstanding national beauty and national parks tend to be those who lean towards a certain political ideology where practical considerations take second place to political correctness.

I notice that some theme parks are not doing very well, let's demolish them, and replant with trees to make a genuine 'New' forest ;-)

My sister runs a campsite, not open to the public, but used by cubs, scouts, brownies, guides etc - and charities and church /school groups from inner London.
Many of those children have never been anywhere that is truly rural.
When they book the campsite, it's usually for that group alone - no-one else is there.
Many of these children are white - and have never spent time in an area with no streetlights, no noise (apart from birds during the day and owls, badgers and foxes at night).
Somewhere where the only view is of fields and trees, and they are dumbfounded!
They're hardly likely to be taken to areas such as the Lake District - money is one problem, unfamiliarity of the 'situation' is another.
Most ethnic minorities live in cities. Vast open spaces can be scary.

There is a lady who runs a guide group in London.
She came down as a child, when she was a guide, and became an adult member, so she could continue coming down. My sister asked if she had been to the Lake District, or places such as Dartmoor or the New Forest. She hadn't.
She knew and loved the campsite, it was familiar - like an 'old friend'. She felt safe there.

It just needs time, and opportunity for inner city people (of all ethnicities) to enjoy wide, open, spaces.

I'd also like to point out that the (allegedly) first black farmer in Devon has won an award.
My grandad's best mate was black - I traced his mum back 5 generations in this country - I only gave up because her name was getting 'mashed' - and she wasn't MY relation!!
The family had lived in Southampton for 3 generations, and it was only when my gran was evacuated to the New Forest that he went to the New Forest! :-D :-D :-D

Agree Allan...it's almost accessible to all these days...and no one cares if you can actually climb it or not...so many die when they shouldn't have even started. As you say the Lake district is overcrowded in places, as Maggie said the New Forest is being taken over by more than ponies.
Everyone wants to go visit because it's so lovely and yet everyone ruins that same loveliness in so many places...and for many just for a selfie.

I visited the Lake District many times when living in the UK, in fact when I was at High School we went every Easter for a school camp at Newlands. OH and I also spent the first night of our honeymoon there on our way up to Scotland.

As I recall, even back then, traffic to the periphery of the area, such as Kendal, was extremely heavy. Most people back then, and presumably even now, only wanted to visit such places as Windermere which has always catered for tourists.

Many of the 'interior' roads would be unsuitable for coaches etc without major upgrades and once that happens the whole area will lose the very factor that draws the dedicated fell-walkers and genuine devotees.

Caroline mentioned Mt Everest. What an environmental disaster that has become now that every man and his dog has access. Tonnes of rubbish left annually by all the visitors to the Mountain

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/mount-everest-turned-into-a-rubbish-dump/news-story/0f39a0f158298f9c8f66b8173672e0d0

:-| :-| :-|

It is offensive to minority groups to suggest they need help to attend solely because they're not white middle class/middle-aged...as already noted maybe they have better things to do (in their mind) just as many while middle age people do. Disneyfication is a fast-spreading disease blighting many places followed closely by overuse of health and safety rules.

I agree, Ann, especially about the patronising comment about 'ethnic' people.
It's almost like these idiots are totally unaware about just how many generations some 'minority' families have been here!
Some people just aren't interested - they go to other places instead - it's their choice.
Some middle class middle aged white bloke using 'trend' words isn't going to change the world - or people's preferences!

Surely black and minority ethnic people are able to access the Lake District if they should want to, it is rather patronising to suggest they need encouraging. It could be that many of them are not able to make the journey because they don’t have transport or funds for paying for coach/train fares etc. How is the LD supposed to sort that?
I can see making beauty spots more accessible for the disabled however without really thinking I can quote two beautiful spots which are wheel chair and mobility scooter accessible
Surely it can only be said they are not inclusive if they actively deter these people from visiting? And of course they don’t

The head of the Lake District says it must strive to become more inclusive so as to attract a greater diversity of visitors.

“We are deficient in terms of young people, we are deficient in terms of black and minority ethnic communities and we are not particularly well-visited by those who are less able in terms of their mobility,” he said.

“Our challenge is to see what we can do to reverse that, to encourage people from broader backgrounds and a wider range of personal mobilities into the national park to be able to benefit in the same way that those other groups do.”

He also said The Lake District was full of white able-bodied middle-aged, middle class people, Hence no apparent 'diversity', and wanted to put an accessible tarmac path through a woodland area.