Swan, you may not agree with livestock farming, but many species would not survive without it. There's lots of birds nest in short grass, and it's cows and sheep that keep the grass short and allow the birds to continue. Cutting fields with machinery tends to interfere with the birds' hatching times, whereas cows will just graze around them.

I'll certainly agree, there's some farmers take liberties with footpaths, making arbitrary diversions, ploughing them up altogether, or simply fencing them off. The majority though are considerate ppl who realise that getting walkers across their land in as orderly a fashion as possible is best for everyone, and signposting of footpaths in lowland areas is generally pretty good, much better than 10 years ago when I started walking on my own.

Trouble is, since the signposting's got better, you get more ppl walking who shouldn't be allowed to leave their own homes without an escort! Litter gets worse, and soil erosion in the Peaks (my "local") is noticeably worse in many areas, requiring the National Trust to install steps and stone pathways in many places. Of course, this makes it easier to get up there, so you get more ppl walking who... etc, etc. Where a National Trust can cover erosion and install bins in popular stopping places, all well and good, but a farmer who has to cover this out of his own pocket will be rightly annoyed. To say nothing of damage to walls and fences, gates left open, etc.

Basically, I'd be in favour of the Countryside Code being a legal document, with on-the-spot fines payable to the farmer for violation! :-)

Graham.