The (in)famous Richard Mercer's programme on the Peak District featuring the TRF is on BBC on Sunday night. Last week's on the Lake District was surprisingly good...but Mercer's researchers have been trying to obtain 'hooligan' footage...so how unbiased will this one be?
Whatever happened to the 'Points Of View' program......? I suppose Harry Hill won't want to feature a follow-up on the 'TV Burp'.......
I will be interested to see how the BBC edit this tonight. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016psp6 Episode 2 of 3 Duration: 1 hour The National Parks are Britain's most treasured landscapes, but they are increasingly becoming battlefields. They were designated 60 years ago as places for everyone, but is that still the case? In this series, the award-winning filmmaker Richard Macer spent a year amid conflicts in three different parks, on a journey to discover who they are really for. In each park the stories are very different, but there is something that unites them all - fiercely divided communities who are prepared to fight in order to preserve their right to enjoy the countryside. For each film Macer has secured access to the National Park Authority - an organisation which looks after the landscapes and decides upon planning matters. In all these stories the Park Authorities have a key role to play in trying to find amicable solutions to the problems which confront them. A war is breaking out in the charming villages of the Peak District, with walkers, horseriders and residents angry at 4x4 drivers and trailbikers motoring up and down the green lanes for pleasure. So an 80-year-old retired primary school teacher decides to launch a campaign to get the motorists banned from a lane in her village of Great Longstone. Over the next few months the campaign snowballs and more and more villages decide they've had enough of the off-roaders on their lanes. Macer filmed for over a year in the Peak District and was granted exclusive access to the inner workings of how the Park is run. Will the Peak District Park Authority bow down to public pressure or will it side with the off-roaders? < Show less The National Parks are Britain's most treasured landscapes, but they are increasingly becoming battlefields. They were designated 60 years ago as places for everyone, but is that still the case? In this series, the award-winning filmmaker Richard Macer spent a year amid conflicts in three different parks, on a journey ...> Show more
last week Basil and I plus 2 others were stopped by the YDNP on a legal lane. They just wanted a chat, to say that some riders had been riding on a closed route. The chap was nice enough, But I did notice that his mate who was sat in the Van was filming us :huh If I'd have known I would have done my Hair
How did you find out you were being filmed, Dazzer? I'm assuming that it's because one of the others told you afterwards, rather than finding yourself featured on Crimewatch... I think I would be getting in touch to ask what permission they had to invade your privacy in such a covert way. I bet there were no cctv signs around the place to inform you of the fact.
I took my helmet off to talk to the chap and while Basil was talking to him I looked up at there Van and noticed the other chap with a camera in his had pointing it at us.... Maybe it was incase Basil tried to Rape Him :eek1
It's not illegal to film/photograph someone in a public space, unless your conduct is 'likely to cause a breach of the peace" ie if you poke your camera up a woman's skirt. As I recall, some years ago (when 'modesty' was still a concept that some young women had a partial grasp of) two teenage girls complained that they had been photographed in their bikinis on a beach and the photograph published in that salacious organ the Bournemouth Evening Echo! Their complaint was ruled out because even though they had not consented to the photography or its publication, what they were showing in the photograph was no more than any passing member of the public would have seen. Many trail riders now use helmet cams, so as to provide an incontrovertible record of their dealings with authority/antis etc.
After watching the show I now have a better understanding of how hard it is for the NP to deal with all this.
just finished watching the Peak District prog> Very biased and shows the simple fact that it is the 'old' uns' that have time on their hands to complain, despite the fact they only use the roads once in a while. Imagine bikers blocking off roads in a silent protest until walkers or horses come past then shouting at them and calling the police cos a walker got to close. The Mountain Rescue have regular issues with locked gates and have to carry keys for every green lane gate in their patch. One day these 'locals' will be on a hill side with a broken flask waiting to be rescued, On the issue of a road having so much errosion that it is going to wash away altogether , then it is justified to close it for 18 months, THIS WILL be the thin edge of a very big wedge. Ride responsably, whilst you can. Derbyshire...... can't ride on the roads, can't ride off road. Soon the whole National Park will be dead .
I thought the NP chief's comment at the end was spot on... Essentially, that the Peaks NP is all about access & to start removing that from certain people seems contradictory after they way it was created. I also think that very little was made of the fact that green lanes only form around 1% of unsurfaced routes in England & Wales The other 99% is available to all who wish to walk, cycle or horse-ride so why do they feel the need for the other 1% as well. Understand that & folk will understand why there is a battle for the right to use green lanes. Coupled with the concentration of use from the impact of NERC removing lanes from use, & there becomes an argument to open more routes in order to dilute the impact on the countryside. Trouble is, that it's fought on a lane by lane basis, so the big picture doesn't get broadcast. Frustrating, isn't it...?
ive only ever encountered one group of anti green laners in the Peak district, a group of around 20 bids with walking sticksetc etc. I was on my own so felt a bit out numbered, they were having a meeting at the top of Chirpit lane, the one that was the main feature of the program last night. I sat and waited till they were done, but waht realy made me laugh was one old guy that walked up to me with stick in hand, i thought eyup theres gonna be some trouble now we spent the next 10 minutes talking about the various bikes he had owned in the distant past, commented on how nice my bike was. the meeting was being held just to the right of this picture http://www.flickr.com/photos/peakscan/4098299980/ That biggish rut on the left(you might just be able to see it) is a result of mining in the area this runs all along the top of Blackstone Rake , surely there protests etc would be better aimed at stopping this kind of abuse to the landscape. ooops forgot they cant cos they were basically told to piss off the other year when they opened up another massive trench on the other side of the lane. Oh well lets protest about the next easiest target. us on the bikes and Landies. As for the council looking after the lanes this is the old A625 http://www.rural-roads.co.uk/winnats/winnats5.shtml out of the Hope Valley, if they cant keep a main road open what hope is there for all the other minor routes. well im off round the Peaks next week.if i dont post after next Sunday you may assume ive been kidnapped by the ramblers
Hi all, Watched the programme last night. A total Noob to the lane debate so I'm no doubt going to say things that have already been voiced many times already. I used to do a lot of walking on dartmoor and horse riding so I'm trying to look at it from all angles. Very difficult situation for the NP but they are doing the best they can to keep access for everyone. Also repairs by the council to problem areas on lanes which looked great, reducing the environmental damage of all user groups. Thought the TRO was fair to see if the lane recovers. (Maybe should apply to all user groups during this period to promote a speedy recovery? EEK! We all have a footprint) Our footprint as trail riders is a lot more obvious due to only having access to small amount of lanes and also only on the lanes. It seems that if you ride a motorbike your automatically a hooligan. I always stop for horses and switch off the engine as do many riders. I know how much bikes freak most horses out and it isn't much fun being sat on top of one at the time, A bin bag in a hedge is usually enough. Maybe do this for walkers too? It might slow down the day a bit but they might appreciate it and could go towards dispelling the myth that we are out to terrorise them. Also they can move into a position they are comfortable with to let us past. Pedestrians usually have the right of way in the highway code? If your out for a day just to give it the full beans then maybe join an enduro club for this, on private land, St Johns Ambulance and burger van on hand and lots of marshalls to have a chuckle at you when u bin it into the biggest mudhole you can find. Your bike must be legal, Simple as. I run the full road kit and number plate holder on my ktm with proper sized letters, looks shite but a small price to pay to ride in the countryside. We all want to be able to enjoy the countryside and want it to stay in good shape. This is the common thing between all the user groups.
Another thought that occurred to me after watching both programmes in the series, so far, was the lack of any kind of younger perspective. In both conflicts, proponents on both sides appeared to be (shall we be generous?) over 50...
Joyce is a retired primary school teacher...which seems to 'inform' her attitude to the rest of the human race.
I can see both sides - but I ride bikes!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> They are planning to put 9 x 125m high wind turbines a 1/4 mile from my house - I think that F**Ks the environment a dam site more that a few trail bikes at weekends! Rant over
Dear Mr Dedman, You may recall that I am the public relations contractor for the TRF and you will not be surprised to learn that I am contacting you to raise my concerns about the latest programme in the Trouble in the National Park series. First let me say that I was genuinely looking forward to seeing it. I particularly enjoyed the first programme in the series; and appreciate that your way of making a programme (essentially putting the camera in front of people and letting them speak with a little gentle prompting if required) is a long way from the traditional television approach of balance and confrontation, which usually ends up with two opposing proponents barking at each other, with the interviewer urging them on like the ringmaster in a dog fight. But I was very disappointed with the final result. For a start, and in direct contradiction to your email to me of 24 Jan the term Offroaders was used throughout. In your own words, this is inaccurate and misleading, and you have failed in your duty (again, your words not mine) to provide viewers with the correct information. Can I ask why you did this? Your commentator took great care to name all the various groups that have sprung up with the shared objective of driving those they do not like from the National Park but appeared to refer to the one group putting the motor users cause (Peak and Derbyshire Vehicle Users Group or PDVUG) as off-roaders. Would you make a documentary about Manchester and call all the inhabitants of Moss Side muggers? It just looked like lazy journalism trading in stereotypes to me. I also felt, my above comments about your unique and refreshing approach notwithstanding, that at some point you could have pointed out that according to the OS map there are at least 17 footpaths in the Great Longstone parish, yet only one unsurfaced unclassified county road. Could your reporter not at least have asked the activists what the problem was with using these paths and why they chose to use a road instead? I also note that Cherpit Lane starts and ends on tarmac roads with no footpaths that are no wider than it is, yet carry more traffic travelling at higher speeds. Isnt there more danger there? And, dont the cars (and even 4x4s) which tow caravans to the site at Dale Farm on the lane pose as big a threat to other users as those vehicles which are using it for other purposes? These are all questions to which your viewers deserved answers: answers which Im sure the residents you featured would have been happy to provide. Could you tell me why they were not asked? After all, your reporter was with them for a year and a wide range of other information was obtained and broadcast, including the location of one couples first experience of sexual intercourse and anothers explanation for the bottle of vinegar in their car. I look forward to your reply.
Thank you all for your kind words..and remember that (to misquote Winston Churchill) it's the lion-hearted collective strength of the TRF that enables such a response...I just have the privilege of supplying the roar. Visit http://www.trf.org.uk/membership/join-online.html and put your weight behind our wheel!
