No dog-flaps allowed
As a keen walker, I was delighted recently to move into the Caradon area where there are some beautiful walks. However, to my dismay, two of the public footpaths designated on current maps are impeded by a stile half-way along.
I am perfectly able to negotiate these easily, but I have two large dogs, each weighing nearly five stone, and they cannot. Their weight presents me from lifting them over, so my only course is to leave the footpath, travel across country to avoid the stile and rejoin the path further on, thus adding about two miles to my journey.
So I wrote to Caradon suggesting that the wire mesh at the bottom of the stile could be replaced by a small flap which could be raised and lowered at will, as is one on many National Trust properties. My letter was passed to the appropriate department, which replied that, in effect, footpaths are for pedestrians not dogs.
'Stiles and gates are deemed to be legal obstructions and are authorised to control the ingress and egress of livestock,' came their reply. 'The owner is required to maintain them in safe condition for pedestrians, but has no duty to make provision for dogs.'
What a sad indictment on the bureaucrats of this country that pensioners like myself cannot walk along footpaths with their dogs, especially as, in many cases, their dog is their only companion,
PATRICIA KERNOW
Darite