There were 'Road Closed' signs up along the Buttermere (Honister) road a few days ago. Gone now. I don't think National Park status makes any difference to access law. We live in the park, but the local town is just outside.

Jurassic wrote: ↑Sat Apr 04, 2020 8:59 pm I think what happens this weekend in the parts of England that are supposed to get nice weather will drive what happens next in terms of lockdown enforcement. If people flout the advice we've been given I think more robust enforcement will happen. The powers required are already there but they're not being used much (certainly in my area) yet. The recently introduced Corona virus legislation combined with existing laws provides plenty of scope for stopping and checking vehicles and people on foot (or bike) if needs be. I found this with a quick Google session.

" The government is therefore ensuring the police and other relevant authorities have the powers to enforce them where people do not comply.

If you leave your home or gather in public for any reason other than those specified, the police may:

instruct you to go home, leave an area or disperse
instruct you to take steps to stop your children breaking these rules if they have already done so
take you home – or arrest you – if you do not follow their instructions or where they deem it necessary
The police will act with discretion and common sense in applying these measures and we expect the public to act responsibly, staying at home in order to save lives.

However, if the police believe that you have broken these rules – or if you refuse to follow their instructions – a police officer may issue you with a fixed penalty notice for £60 (reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days). If you have already received a fixed penalty notice, the amount will increase to £120 and double on each further repeat offence.

The government will keep this under review and will increase the penalties if it becomes clear that this is necessary to ensure compliance."

Thing is those are powers for enforcement after the event rather than ones that would enable prohibition beforehand.

I live on the edge of Peak park and have been exercising on the bikepacking bike, but staying "on-road" on quiet back lanes to minimise the risk of injury and to avoid touching any gates.
There are plenty of popular outdoor spots around here that are not within the Peak park boundaries so I would think any closure just of national parks would be an arbitrary thing to do. - My brother in north London says his local park has had a one-way system imposed due the intensity of use it is getting at the moment.
All the car parks that I have passed are closed with tape and signs and even yesterday (Saturday) afternoon most were completely empty. There is the odd car parked here and there (surprisingly few) which appears to be a couple or a family with kids doing a "drive and walk" either with or without a dog.
I did see some teens in a pair of XR3i-type cars out and about - they didn't appear to be one family unit.
Of course I don't know for sure the circumstances of any of these folk - only my conjecture.
Anyway, my impression around here is that the Government's guidelines are being closely followed.
Generally, everyone I see out replies cheerily to the "Hello" greetings I give. I did however get shouted at by a farmer a couple of miles from my house telling me that I should be exercising at home.

Riding over motorways at the moment they are uncannily empty - sort of "normal" 3am type empty, so I think people are behaving. Makes you wonder where everyone was going before all this kicked off.....

slarge wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 11:34 am Makes you wonder where everyone was going before all this kicked off.....

The shops. When I rode back from Dartmoor on a Sunday afternoon with Andy we had to cross a main road and it was non-stop traffic, we then realised it was not long after 4 and they were probably all on their way home from shopping. Half an hour later the roads were empty again.

slarge wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 11:34 am Riding over motorways at the moment they are uncannily empty - sort of "normal" 3am type empty, so I think people are behaving. Makes you wonder where everyone was going before all this kicked off.....

This! Never seen the motorways empty.

Last two weeks on the motorways have been bliss, just vans and trucks, not many cars

slarge wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 11:34 amMakes you wonder where everyone was going before all this kicked off.....

They go shopping. Because that's what *they* do. What are they shopping for? Who knows? Stuff! Doesn't matter if they need stuff but they are shopping. Shopping is good, shopping for stuff is good even if they've the same stuff at home that they've never used from the last time they went shopping. When the house is full they'll throw the unused stuff from last year's shopping out ready for the next shopping trip for stuff that they'll never use.

My brother reports that the Police are stopping traffic on the road into the Dales from Lancaster. Turning cars around etc.

boxelder wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:48 pm My brother reports that the Police are stopping traffic on the road into the Dales from Lancaster. Turning cars around etc.

Also doing this on the road into north wales but I think they’re targeting caravans etc

voodoo_simon wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:54 pm

boxelder wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:48 pm My brother reports that the Police are stopping traffic on the road into the Dales from Lancaster. Turning cars around etc.

Also doing this on the road into north wales but I think they’re targeting caravans etc

You beat me to it! But yeah the police are doing random stops of traffic too

Plenty of cars parked in laybys round here. Not rammed like it would be in this weather normally but busy enough to be sure that its not just locals popping up the hill.

A few walking groups of 3 to 10 people out too.

Guess they'll have to lock us in if they want us not to travel as a society.

Caravans? Surely all the sites are shut?

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 1:53 pm Caravans? Surely all the sites are shut?

It's called wild camping.

Apparently.

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 1:56 pm

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 1:53 pm Caravans? Surely all the sites are shut?

It's called wild camping.

Apparently.

Wild maybe but definitely not stealth!

I can see kipping in a layby with a camper but a caravan?

It's a thing. And has been for many years. There are whole websites dedicated to listing suitable off-road stopping places.

Was more so last week when the caravan parks were still
open. Still, putting a police car or two on the A55 will be a deterrent to some.

Have noticed a bigger increase in police cars whilst out and about the last two weeks, have seen them stopping cars etc (obviously don’t know the reasons for stopping them!)

A friend of mine who lives in the Lakes just posted this from Cumbria Police on FB, seems pretty clear what their policy is.
“Another couple stopped from heading into S Lakes, from Leicester. They had come walking and had camping eqt. Let us be clear.. We are Policing the road network into the lakes. #stayhomestaysafe You will be turned around and may face a fine if your journey is unnecessary.”

Pity Police Scotland aren't doing the same. I'm hearing tales of visitors and second home owners turning up throughout the Highlands - in some cases emptying shops like a plague of locusts

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 5:30 pm Pity Police Scotland aren't doing the same. I'm hearing tales of visitors and second home owners turning up throughout the Highlands - in some cases emptying shops like a plague of locusts

I haven't seen this in the Lomond & Trossachs NP - at least the bit where I live. My village is a "gateway" type place and was rammed the weekend before the lockdown with shops cleared out, but it's been dead quiet since then - just the odd motorcyclist riding through. The local cops even seem to be doing a regular round of the village car park checking for vans and motorhomes.

It appears that Dartmoor is welcoming visitors again https://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/about-us/ho ... rus-update

Can anyone recommend some routes for a 2/3 night trip please?

"Don't wild camp", "Come during the day but don't stay overnight". Sort of half-open then .

RIP wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:06 pm "Don't wild camp", "Come during the day but don't stay overnight". Sort of half-open then .

Bugger!

Wasted(?) a bit of my life considering this further.

Bit difficult to get round the "don't wild camp" order but "don't stay overnight" is easy isn't it - sleep during the day.

In fact I'm not sure why I didn't think of that before. When we're told "must return home at night" - what is night? You could go for a ride in the morning/afternoon, crash out at 4pm in a wood somewhere, get up at 11.30pm, and arrive home at 11.59pm. Or in a similar vein, go to bed at home at 4pm, wake up at 11.30pm and set off riding at 00.01am "next day". Then you could kip out at any time in the next 23 hours 58 minutes and be "back home at night".

So that would still count as a BaM I believe. Just look on it like shift work - doing shift work doesn't stop people doing BaM. Or does it? I don't think we've ever got to the bottom of what an "overnight" is even with normal BaM's anyway? When can it start/finish and how many hours/minutes does it have to last to "count"? I've checked. The Rules just say "one night out" without a definition of "night".

Hmm. Some define "night-time" as the time between sunset and and sunrise. Well if you "returned home" after a ride one day at 11.59pm, what's stopping you setting off riding again at 02.00 and kipping at 03.00? Can't see anything in Covid rules stating what time you're allowed to leave home rather than return.

This again also brings up the issue of if you're kipping during the day, that's "resting" not "sleeping" (ie wild camping), so I reckon I've cracked it! Go for a ride, "return home at night", get up at 00:01am, go for a ride, stop at 05:00am for a "rest" until, say, 11:00am, then "return home" for the next night. BaM done, and no rules broken.

I wonder if I've got the bottle to be a Court test case to try it out .

LOL - I was thinking about a RTTS ride. If I set off at 2am to get to the top of a hill and then nap waiting for sunrise before returning home, is that a June BAM? In fact, do I even have to nap?