The fifth in our catalogue of countryside harassment.

The Runner:

I spend a lot of time in the countryside since I retired and have become concerned about the behaviour of some of the people who work there especially grouse moor gamekeepers.

After a professional life in the law I have a fair idea of how to read legislation and what I am and am not allowed to do when visiting the countryside. I go to the countryside to run. This is something I have been doing for years and the joy of running along hill tracks is something that never fails to lift my spirits. Since retiring I have been able to spend more time running and to run in many places I have not been to before. This still gives me pleasure, unless I am in an area managed for driven grouse shooting! Increasingly I have found that when visiting these areas, whether it be on a public right of way in England or using the land reform legislation in Scotland, I encounter problems. Sometimes it is locked gates with barbed wire strategically looped around the top. Sometimes it is being watched through binoculars from an adjacent hill. Sometimes it is being approached by an armed man or men demanding to know what you are doing on ‘their’ land. It soon became apparent to me as I expanded my running range that if I visited areas managed for driven grouse shooting I would suffer harassment. I am more than able to hold my own in a debate about the law but when I do the tone can quickly become menacing. Bearing in mind that one is alone in an isolated spot with an individual or individuals who are younger than oneself, verbally aggressive and armed this can be an unpleasant experience. One is left with two options; stop going or exercise one’s lawful rights but have a miserable time doing it.

Mostly these days I avoid grouse moors but occasionally I decide to have a day of action rather than fun and head off to beard the keepers in their dens.

Running, walking and generally enjoying the countryside should not be like this. Things need to change>