Rural rides

In the early 19th Century William Cobbett rode around England to find out about the attitude of rural people towards the corn laws. It is time for our politicians to do the same.

There is a big difference between urban and rural areas of the UK. The new law on lockdown is clearly designed for people who live in large towns and cities (London, to be honest). The – some would say – draconian measures dished out to people walking along roads and in parks is quite shocking to those of us lucky enough to live in more rural areas. People do need to get some fresh air. In our village we do not need restrictions relating to exercise. We can get up and go out at any time of the day, walking from home, and head into the hills and fields, following the wide array of footpaths – we have around 70 just in our parish and many more in adjacent parishes. It is easy to avoid paths that go through farmyards, and if we meet people we can easily pass at 2 metres to retain social distancing – and there is nothing to stop us having a chat with them.

We are lucky in having the expanse of the Peak District nearby, an ideal spot for longer walks, drives or even picnics. There is no problem with ensuring social distancing if people are careful. We might have to watch out for the Derbyshire police drones on Calver Edge, but hopefully they have learned their lesson on that one! Over-policing really is not necessary in these circumstances.

We tend to have more and bigger gardens in the countryside (I know this is far from universally true), and this has implications for further activity. The closure of nurseries and garden centres at such a critical time of the year was senseless, clearly devised by city-based politicians and advisers. Whether we are rural or urban, we need seeds, plants, fertiliser and so on in order to ensure our gardens are functioning. This has a number of benefits in lockdown. Through gardening we can grow food and we can exercise – with both physical and psychological benefits. Even for those with limited or no garden space, being able to visit a garden centre and get plants and herbs for the window sill has obvious benefits. Garden centres also tend to be rather spacious, even more so than supermarkets, and so are ideal for social distancing.

My son works for another National Park. He is working from home. One of the activities he should be doing is carrying out surveys in the woodlands of that park. He is, under current rules, not allowed to do so. Why? Because the city-based politicians say so. Again, there is no problem with him driving to these woods, walking around making notes, driving home again and writing up the reports on is computer.

Another instance. We keep hearing reports about not allowing people back to work because of the dangers of overcrowding the public transport system. In our village we have one bus an hour going either way (and not in the evening). It is often mostly empty. Most people go to work by car. While some people use public transport, restricting work because of public transport fears has little relevance for most people in most rural areas.

The economy needs to start working as soon as possible, as said daily by the politicians, though they seem to do little about it, but it is not necessarily going to be the same everywhere. The countryside is the ideal place to start reducing the lockdown. Farmers have never stopped working (they never do), and there are plenty of other countryside activities that can be started up. Not only that, being out in the countryside has psychological benefits for people who have been cooped up in their houses for too long.

Please politicians, start the process of getting the economy moving again by focusing – at least a little – on the countryside. Rural areas play a key role in the economy and leisure, and there is no good reason why we cannot differentiate lockdown rules between city and village. There is no harm in having a drive or a walk in the countryside – or even, dare I say it, sitting in a field and having a picnic. Let’s join William Cobbett and his Rural Rides. Cobbett did after all explore England by horseback in order to find out the views of farmers and other rural people in order to advise the Government on the correct course of action (I know, corn laws, not CV-19, but you get the point).