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... a farmer came along and he burst our bubble!
Allow me to explain. We went out today to trek across the West Yorkshire Moors, first time outing down there, guided by Memory Map info which had been marked out as a green lane.
Let's just say we were a little off the beaten track and unfortunately we ended up in an extremely narrow lane. The Landy with the roof rack got stuck under low bushes and the possibility of backing 5 vehicles along the lane was going to be more than a little difficult.
We managed to clear that lane and found ourselves in a small holding farm yard. The owner came out to find out what was going on and the guy in the lead truck apologised for us being there and explained we had taken a marked track that clearly wasn't suitable for the purpose. The farm guy then said we should carry on along this treacherous route and it would become narrower and wetter! There was a hardcore road off his property but he said we couldn't use it as it was a private road.
A couple of the guys tried to get their trucks along the track but it really was a no go. We had no other option but to get off the guys property via his road. We apologised once again and made it clear that we would never come that way again and we would mark up the route as unusable. He still insisted we should take the other route.
All we wanted to do was get off his property in an orderly manner with no damage and the minimum of fuss. I'm afraid we had little option but to use the hardcore road. The farm guy came out and took pictures of all our trucks and number plates. I don't know who he will report us to but he was pretty mad. When we left the road there was no sign to say it was private.
I fully understand why the farm guy was angry, it was his property and we were in the wrong, albeit mistakenly. There will no doubt be critisisim from members on our actions but anyone can make a mistake and I post this as a warning to others to ensure the route marked as okay is passable and doesn't encroach on someones propery. I feel ashamed of what happened today but faced with the choice of getting stuck in an unpassable lane and taking a safe route out what would you have done? Apart from the obvious thing like not being there in the first place.
Allow me to explain. We went out today to trek across the West Yorkshire Moors, first time outing down there, guided by Memory Map info which had been marked out as a green lane.
Let's just say we were a little off the beaten track and unfortunately we ended up in an extremely narrow lane. The Landy with the roof rack got stuck under low bushes and the possibility of backing 5 vehicles along the lane was going to be more than a little difficult.
We managed to clear that lane and found ourselves in a small holding farm yard. The owner came out to find out what was going on and the guy in the lead truck apologised for us being there and explained we had taken a marked track that clearly wasn't suitable for the purpose. The farm guy then said we should carry on along this treacherous route and it would become narrower and wetter! There was a hardcore road off his property but he said we couldn't use it as it was a private road.
A couple of the guys tried to get their trucks along the track but it really was a no go. We had no other option but to get off the guys property via his road. We apologised once again and made it clear that we would never come that way again and we would mark up the route as unusable. He still insisted we should take the other route.
All we wanted to do was get off his property in an orderly manner with no damage and the minimum of fuss. I'm afraid we had little option but to use the hardcore road. The farm guy came out and took pictures of all our trucks and number plates. I don't know who he will report us to but he was pretty mad. When we left the road there was no sign to say it was private.
I fully understand why the farm guy was angry, it was his property and we were in the wrong, albeit mistakenly. There will no doubt be critisisim from members on our actions but anyone can make a mistake and I post this as a warning to others to ensure the route marked as okay is passable and doesn't encroach on someones propery. I feel ashamed of what happened today but faced with the choice of getting stuck in an unpassable lane and taking a safe route out what would you have done? Apart from the obvious thing like not being there in the first place.
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