Let loose on a stile

At last. The guidance is that most of us can now drive a distance to enjoy the countryside, albeit also while also advised to follow social distancing rules.  That's ok.  I'm happy not to make others feel uncomfortable.

In the joy of being let loose, the youngsters don't even mind the profusion of nettles, which seem to have gone a bit prolifically mad in our human absence.

Threatening land-owner

This is the sort of thing that really gets my goat.  A selfish land-owner (near Ashley) has put up a threatening notice on a public footpath warning walkers not to use the path.

Of course I understand that land-owners don't always want strangers on their land, but the fact is that these are established common routes - by law - and the owner must have bought the land (or inherited it) knowing that a right of way existed across it.  So they need to learn to live with the fact and adapt.

Secondly, ramblers and farmers have one common aim - to protect the countryside. What farmers don't grasp is that, by being aggressive to walkers, they are making enemies where they should be making friends.

Stile for Wychnor dogs

A special stile for dogs in the countryside is a new one to me. This one, by the canal at Wychnor, means that the dog in question does not have to clamber over the stile, nor be carried over it, nor slip through some other way..
It works quite simply. You see the red handle on the left? It is attached at its end to a 'paddle'. When you raise the handle, up comes the paddle, and the dog slips through the hole.

I'm vaguely amazed. I was aware that we now have man-made under-road ramps to enable hedghogs to cross country lanes safely, but ... stiles for dogs ... Never seen those before.