On Mon, 8 Jul 2019 12:07:17 +0100 (GMT+01:00), "Graham."
wrote:
snip
AIUI the towpaths of the Canal & River Trust are not rights of way.
I think you will find he was referring to common sense priority of
pedestrian over cycle and not the legal status of the route
itself.
Quite. ;-)
I endorse lots of the points mentioned he
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-...drop-your-pace
Particularly:
"If you're running or cycling even at a leisurely pace, you will still
be traveling a lot faster than other towpath visitors. The towpath is
not the place for time trials or getting your PB, so please do this
elsewhere."
"This is why towpaths have a pedestrian priority and it is especially
important for those moving quickly (cyclists and joggers) to slow down
and take care going under bridges or in other places where the sight
line maybe poor."
And I'd say (round here anyway), most people do ... and there is
generally a friendly atmosphere between dog walkers (we have made many
acquaintances though this), cyclists and boaters alike.
We don't interface with many of the joggers as they seem to be in
their own little worlds with their headphones or earplugs in. It's
either music to relieve the monotony of what they are doing or
motivational stuff to try to minimise the monotony of what they are
doing. weg
A more recent appearance, typically on the paved bits of footpath
around the parks are scooters, both electric and manual (adults
especially). The electric ones did look like special fun [1] and
whilst might provide extra exercise for the dogs (but not in this
heat), wouldn't do much for us.
Walking is by far the best way to enjoy it all, from interacting with
the dogs (ours and others), to talking to passers by and boaters to
hearing the sounds, seeing the sights (nature reserves) and smelling
the smells. ;-)
I've recently had to make two more holes in my belt so that can't be a
bad thing. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
[1] We have actually had a fairly large (24V) electric scooter for
nearly 20 years now. Might be time to dig it out. ;-)