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Letter printed in the Driffield Times 21/01/2004
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AFTER reading an article entitled 'Walking back to happiness' by Libby Purves in January's edition of SAGA magazine, I was prompted to write to you regarding an unwelcoming encounter I had when visiting your beautiful Yorkshire town of Driffield.

When walking along the water's edge and then across to see the lock gate I was approached and was asked what I was doing there.

I told the woman that I was on holiday and I was interested in the local waterways. She then informed me that I was trespassing and would I mind leaving.

I answered her politely that I was on a public footpath, had a right of way and that I was only enjoying the beautiful surroundings. The owner then took my photograph and told me she was on the telephone to her solicitor. I took my leave as I feared being hurled head first into the lock.

Libby Purves continued: "Established footpaths may not be particularly well-marked but they belong to us," followed later on in her article: "Strolling through Oxfordshire I have followed the canal for miles on end, enjoying the variety of archways, tunnels, swing bridges and lift bridges with their V-beams painted smart black and white."

This is exactly what I had been looking forward to on my holidays only to be confronted by a camera-wielding, ill-informed law enforcer.

"The greatest joy is that they go somewhere, these footpaths of ours.

"They are not just recreational 'hiking trails' leading back round to car parks. They are ways of travelling. They link us back to our pedestrian ancestors. THEY ARE PRECIOUS," added Libby.

Come on Driffield, open your footpaths and your WELCOMING arms to the thousands of tourists who enjoy walking in your pleasant surroundings.