Tuesday, November 26, 2013
The end of freedom
Some time last week I saw this new notice on the gate by the cattle grid, where the road leaves the common and runs into Eton Wick.
I must admit that I've been parking on the verge in Boveney Road (Rule Two) for a few years, on the bare, muddy patches near the little bridge that are used mostly by dog walkers; but I don't want a £200 fine, so I've stopped. I only used the verge because the alternative is the Ramblers' Car Park which is too often decorated with piles of glass for my liking. (I hate that name. I don't "ramble", I walk. And they've put the apostrophe in the wrong place; unless they really mean it's for only one rambler at a time.)
Rule Three is interesting; I've always thought it quite horrible for people to let their dogs foul the common. It's agricultural land and part of the food chain, yet there are no poo-bins and even if there were, there's no guarantee dog-walkers would use them. Some dog-walkers would also point out that the common is covered in cow dung anyway! (Believe it or not, Burnham Beeches has loads of signs devoted to explaining to dog-walkers the difference between cow dung and dog poo.)
But Rule Six is the real punch in the solar plexus. "Commercial and recreational activity is forbidden, including professional dog exercisers."
Is birdwatching a "recreational activity"? With my highly developed persecution complex, I'm sure all this is aimed at me: first came charges for parking at Burnham Beeches and Swinley Forest, and soon they'll be introduced at Dorney Lake - all my fault. Now there's a ban on parking and who knows, even watching birds, on Dorney Common. Somehow, they will conspire to close Dorney Wetlands to me, and there'll be nothing left but my back garden. (And I'm someone who can't stand conspiracy theories!)
Meanwhile I went for a walk early-ish, while I'm still allowed. This was the only pic I got, of a fox just inside the sewage farm.
Also there: great spotted woodpecker, blackbird, long-tailed, blue and great tits, and a goldcrest.
// posted by Christine @ 5:26 AM 
