How far from your house is still in your local area?

Iam64, may I say a huge thank you for your contribution here. What a sense of fair play and reasonableness you extend. You have managed to shelve narrow mindedness so explicitly here. I try putting all the angst and accusations recently found on GN down to stress with the current situation but find it increasingly difficult. Well done you and..... thanks again.

Local is surely relative. If you live in a remote part of, say , Scotland, you may have to travel 10 plus miles to the nearest shop etc.

And I really don;t see the harm in getting into your car, driving 10 or so miles, then getting out and walking outside,before getting back into your car and driving home. Who are you infecting?

My nearest supermarket is 16 miles away so this is my "local" and I am allowed to visit it!

I asked my husband about Boris' journey today because until recently he used to cycle from Stratford to near the Royal London Hospital. Apparently much of the ride goes through Victoria Park then along the canal path, all very flat and easy enough. Not sure about the last bit to Downing Street. A pleasant ride.
Now if Boris had driven to Chequers to cycle round the estate that would have been unacceptable, so surely a quick jaunt up the road in London isn't breaking any rules.

PamelaJ1

I’ve just had an email from the National Trust reminding me and all their other members that their grounds are open. I can prebook a slot.
Our nearest is about 15miles away but still in our local area. That is if the criteria is our District council area, I can hardly walk there if the rule is walk to exercise.
I suppose that if Boris rode his bike from his door to the park and back then he is obeying the rules.
I wish I had the energy and the confidence to ride that far on urban roads.

Same with me PamelaJ1. My nearest NT is a 15 min (7 miles) drive. I use it to walk my dog and stop for the occasional chat with other dog owners. I am currently sticking to my one dog walk where no driving is needed. I do know that a few are cycling to the place as it part of a cycle route here. Nearest town is about 4 miles away.

I went onto the NT facebook page to see what others are saying about this email. A number have emailed NT to say it is encouraging many to drive miles for exercise.

PamelaJ1. I've just googled how long it would take me to walk to nearest NT 7 miles away. 2 hours each way. Most of it on narrow country lanes with no pavement.

I heard Boris had travelled by tube to the Olympic Park to cycle hence the 7 miles. Nit sure about if he lives at Downing Street or his own home so can't really say if the 7 miles is justifiable. There may well be a security issue for him cycling about streets in the city.

i don't think a PM can go on the tube, for security reasons.
it's a local ride. lay off him.

isn't it interesting that so many people who say it was ok, also make the point that they wouldn't vote for him.
maybe they are the calm considered types, who try to be open-minded and fair ?

Welbeck I hope I am among them. As long as Boris was cycling and socially distancing I am not really bothered how far he cycles. I am not even bothered by how much time Jeremy Corbyn spends on his allottment. I have never voted for either of the main parties or their leaders, in fact, currently, both are an anathema to me.

Does that make me even more open-minded and fair?

It is still safer to be outside than inside anywhere with those you don’t live with.

I keep referring back to my OP. It's not about going shopping or medical appointments. It's about exercise. I just wish the gov would be clearer just so that we all know what we can do rather than having to second guess what vague words mean.

Sorry about just being used twice in one sentence. I still have Covid brain fog.

I walked locally from home today weather beautiful.Everyone around appeared to be ‘sticking to the rules’ exercising locally presumably setting off from home too enjoying the sunshine trying to self distance.Issue is the combination of adhering to the locality and the sunshine is only between 9am to 4pm in the Winter months ,the numbers are inevitably going to be highly condensed in one area s radius because most people are conscientiously following the rules keeping within the perimeters they believe are right. How far out are they allowed to go ?What’s the solution ?A radius of 5 miles?Are the numbers taking exercise according to the rules going to peak at midday when the sun is at its best ?You can see the crowded parks in London in the news all the locals keeping within their area (most of them hopefully ) but inevitably the parks are going to be ‘full ‘.
So many questions with no logical answers no wonder there is confusion !
Rant over .

We need clarity

I live in the middle of nowhere, my nearest shop is 5 miles away!! That's local!!

I think the reason that “local” has not been defined is because of the huge differences between neighbourhoods. My nearest park is less than 1 mile away but it’s the nearest park for many people living 5 or 6 miles away. Same with shops and other facilities.
Regarding the PM he’s in a unique situation whichever party he represents and many things must be taken into account before he can go out. It’s completely ridiculous even to mention Dominic Cummings on this thread. There’s no comparison and I think too many people (not all) are too ready to criticise Boris when they have no idea whether any other leader would have managed things better. Give the man a break.

7 miles... great that means I can cycle through 5 villages and still be local to where I live in South Wales!

Where is local to me? - Yorkshire.

You are certainly allowed to walk or cycle 7 miles - provided you start from home. Its the driving miles to exercise somewhere else that is the issue at the moment.

Actually, it isn't, Saetana. The government and police would like you to think travel is banned so they are deliberately confusing the law with guidance.

I would sympathise with any lawmaker who had to define or give guidance on what local means in the current situation. I live within comfortable walking distance of a substantial forest, a river, a station with trains to central London, and a shopping street with supermarkets, chemists, cafés and restaurants. It would be hard for me to justify going anywhere far, because all essentials are available locally. Other people live in the middle of nowhere.

Yes, the government wants to discourage travel, but I am not sure that it is deliberately confusing the law with guidance; it’s just very difficult.

grumppa

The police should be enforcing the law. They should not be being asked to give, or interpret, government guidance. It is not a difficult distinction to make. Unfortunately, I do believe this government to be duplicitous in this respect and many others.