The Fords at Castle Acre, will certainly interest those on the recent Unofficial, plus anyone in East Anglia

Im on the case.

Simon Isaacs uttered summat worrerz funny about:

Si

Where has this info come from, especially the bit about the coucils own survey? I'll rattle the keyboard with my observations :-) The crossing and the for and aft bit are metalled infact the river bed it's self is cobbled.

Lee D

sent direct to GLASS, courtesy of the PO Box

-- "For those who are missing Blair - aim more carefully."

To reply direct rot13 me

bURRt the 101 Camper

200TDi Disco with rotten floor 200 TDi DIsco, "the offroader" 1976 S3 Lightweight

Ive had an official reply.

My email sent this am ....

Hi,

I was disappointed recently to read that there is a move to ban vehicular traffic down the roads that use Fullers Lane and the Fords at West Acre. This is, in my view, a retrograde step.

A few weeks ago I was there with some friends and it's a wonderful spot. We saw some Landrovers go through the fords and not only did they look amazing crossing the water, but they actually had to move a fallen tree to get to the fords. It would seem that the council might be failing in their duty to keep the roads and byways open!

Your own survey shows that there is very little traffic anyway, and to close yet another 'amenity' is taking a NIMBY style approach to stop other peoples enjoyment of the area. From what we saw horses churn the sides of the road up far more than these Landrovers did, indeed there are paths through the woods, presumably made by walkers and horses, which aren't wide enough for vehicles but which are _not_ legal footpaths or bridleways, whereas the roadway is legal to be used by _EVERYONE_.

Why stop one particular type of access, or user, using a roadway that is being far more abused and mistreated by other types of use?

We found no ruts at the fords or along Fullers Lane, indeed the bed of the ford is block paved (it looks like) and the entrances and exits seem absolutely fine for vehicles to me, being mostly rocky and gravelly. There was no mud apparent either before or after we saw the Landrovers going through the fords.

There was lots of mud on the paths leading from the roads through the woods, which could not possibly have been caused by vehicles. I suggest you ought to look more closely at who actually wants a vehicular ban and why they want it, before banging yet another nail in the coffin lid of liberty and freedom for all.

I am ... inserted my name and address ...

I honestly love coming to Norfolk, but moves like this will severely affect the way I feel about bringing my family and friends to the area again.

Heheheh, send me a copy, please, Mark ... or post it here anyway!

We were actually stopped by the guys doing the survey. Had a pleasant chat with them and they said that we were fine, and glad we were enjoying the route! One of the guys was all over the vehicles and very interested.

He said we were not in any trouble as long as we stuck to the marked routes, which of course we were!

When we were there with the fallen treem, i wonder what they would say to the walkers / horese riders that were making their own path though the wood to the side?

Which is exactly the point ... we stick to the rules. ;)

Must say whilst I didn't lie in my email to them, I also didn't quite tell the whole truth, as I was in one of the Landrovers doing the fording. ;)

My letter, feel free to use and adapt as required:

Dear Mrs Page

I am alarmed and upset to to find that there is a move to ban vehicular traffic from Fullers Lane and access to Fullers Lane.

I have used the route on several occasions when exploring Norfolk in my vehicle, and have often enjoyed a picnic on the lane.

I have, however, found the residents of West Acre to be very hostile to drivers of 4x4 vehicles, and recently, on the 25th August, was subjected to a tirade from 3 people claiming to be from the Parish Council, although they refuse to give their names. At the time I was part of a small group of vehicles, and during our journey we found that a tree had fallen down, as a nuisance to passage, users are allowed to abate obstructions. The "Parish Councillors" were extremely rude and abusive towards the party of vehicles, and took a number of pictures of us "destroying the fallen tree and damaging the environment." Abatement can be legally carried out to anything classed as a nuisance or obstruction to passage, with deviation only allowed if the obstruction or nuisance cannot be abated. This was cleared out of the way, as it was causing an obstruction to all classes of users of the route, so deviation on our part was unnecessary. The deviation taken to avoid the tree by a pair of horse riders resulted in on of the horses stumbling, which could have resulted in the destruction of the horse. The location of the fallen tree is shown in one of the attached files, marked by a blue X, while other files show the size of the tree.

This is not the first time that I have encountered obstructions on this lane. During April 2004, trees had been deliberately placed across the lane, and Norfolk County Council was contacted to remove the trees. Signs placed on the trees claimed that lots of vehicles used the lane, yet surveys of use carried out by Norfolk County Council have shown low usage. Certainly during my visits I have never seen a vehicular user on what the "Parish Councillors" claimed to be a motorway! In fact the only other users I have found on that lane, other than those in the groups of which I was a member, has been a small party of travelling Romanys who claim to have suffered the same problems from the "Parish Councillors."

If the surface is badly damaged and rutted, as is claimed, it would be difficult for vehicles to pass; Land Rover vehicles, for example only have 7 inches of clearance under the axle due to the differential, so ruts deeper than this can cause serious problems for this type of vehicle. The "Parish Councillors" also claimed that they had seen ruts over 2 feet, or 24 inches deep around the ford. Not only would this cause problems for a Land Rover with a mere 7 inches under the axle, but the tyre size required would not fit on this sort of vehicle. By definition, a rut can only, at best, be as deep as the radius of the wheel fitted to the vehicle because of axle clearance; therefore, it is logical that to produce a rut of 24 inches depth would require a tyre of minimum 4 feet diameter, or 48 inches, not allowing for necessary axle clearance. This size of tyre simply will not fit a 4x4 vehicle, although is common fitment on agricultural machinery such as tractors. This supposed rutted area is shown in the attached photographs. It is quite clear that the rutting is minimal.

The surface is not badly rutted; it is merely soft, with a firm base about 4 to 5 inches below a thick layer of mud caused by build up of silt and leaf mould. This problem could easily be cured with the addition of several tonnes of large stone to the area in question. This problem is only found at the eastern side of the ford, as the western side has no overhanging trees. The base of the ford is extremely firm, and suffers from no rutting either. Repairing ruts with large stone is a recommended method of repair described in the DeFRA guidance book, "Making the Best of Byways"

Surveys carried out by the Rambler's Association show that ramblers tend to prefer walking vehicular routes because they have fewer problems such as overhanging undergrowth and fallen trees. The reason for this is that vehicular use tends to keep the overgrowth in check by pushing it back. The Ramblers Association and the British Horse Society have both claimed that since the introduction of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act, many of the former Roads Used as Public Path, now reclassified as Restricted Byway, and hence closed to vehicular traffic have become more difficult to use because of accelerated growth of the plants and trees along the route. This may mean that the residents of West Acre could no longer be able to use the route either if the undergrowth is not kept in check.

Historically, I have travelled to Norfolk to enjoy the scenery and the pleasant countryside. This lane is popular with all users because of the peace and serenity that can be found if one is not barracked by "Parish Councillors." I have enjoyed the services offered by the public house in West Acre, and also several of the public houses and other local services found in the nearby village of Castle Acre, as I believe, judging by comments from owners of these businesses, have many others. If Fullers Lane is closed, the inhabitants of West Acre may well enjoy the peace and quiet, although business in the surrounding area may suffer. I would certainly reconsider the route taken on my journey, and would miss out the area completely.

As a point of interest, our small group camped at a nearby campsite for the whole August Bank Holiday and use local facilities such as supermarkets, public houses and restaurants, as well as more mundane services such as garages. The total spending across our group brought over £1000 into the local economy of Norfolk. With large numbers of rights of way users, this figure is quite substantial if similar groups have similar spend levels.

I feel that closure of the route would have a significant effect on:

Local tourism through a decrease in the rights of way network Increased pressure on businesses who rely on tourists of much of their trade Increased pressure on the remaining rights of way network, leading to increased maintenance on repair.

Sincerely

Simon Isaacs

-- "For those who are missing Blair - aim more carefully."

To reply direct rot13 me

bURRt the 101 Camper

200TDi Disco with rotten floor 200 TDi DIsco, "the offroader" 1976 S3 Lightweight

Isn't it about time these "Parish Councillors" were subjected to the 'law'. What they seem to be doing or attempting to do is outside of the law and they should I think be hoist upon their own petards. It used to be called "obstructing the Queen's highway". Which of course is terribly non PC these days Perhaps that is what NCC should do, keep these lanes clear and in good repair and to prosecute those attempting to do otherwise!

Someone was there yesterday and has posted pics on mud-club :

Can't see anything relating to what they are claiming .. can you?

Bump

Closing date soon, just incase anyone missed it.