Walking "close to home" - what does this mean?

This is the current advice on the Scottish government website. Maybe I’m even thicker than I thought but I can’t really understand the part about the 5 mile boundary. Anyone able to simplify it?

You can travel for local outdoor sport or exercise such as meeting another person, walking, cycling, golf or running that starts and finishes at the same place (which can be up to 5 miles from the boundary of your local authority area), as long as you abide by the rules on meeting other households.

If I walk from home, I only have about half a mile of footpath which is currently thick with snow and ice because the council hasn’t gritted in almost a week. Otherwise I have to be walking on a dangerous bendy road with a 60mph speed limit. Some of us need to travel to get to a safe place.

We also have no local shops so need to travel to get supplies in between supermarket deliveries esp if they don’t deliver all of my order.

MissAdventure

Could you peddle slower, perhaps?

Or just peddle around the block a few hundred times?!

That's the spirit!

Agree SueDonim!

I can walk in the countryside from home ( pretty boring always doing the same) but the rules in England mean that you can drive a short way to get to a quiet green space.

I would have thought 4 miles was within your local area

What area do they mean, exactly? If they are talking about MSOA areas by which Covid cases are calculated, they vary in size.

Who decides what "near home" means? Is it down to an individual police officer to decide? 100 yards? 5 miles?

Unless, of course, they are in Wales where you are not allowed travel to a deserted wood in the car to exercise but have to travel nearly 40 miles (each way) to fetch essential medicine.

Sorry, I will say no more about that.
???

Dear dear SD Is there anything about Scotland or where you live that you like ? I've never come across anyone who complains so much about the place they call home .i suppose its that BAD SNP's fault that you live in an area with nowhere to walk!!

Cornergran our local NT places are open. We're going tomorrow to one of them - about 10 miles away. They are SO secure and safe. If we get stopped I'll say it's for my mental health which it IS. If I stay in much more I'll go mad. And I'm sick of the sight of all the roads near me. We are extremely sensible and stay well away from other people.

paddyanne

Scottish cities have loads of green spaces Maw, sure Glasgow means dear green place .

OFFS
Are you saying they should move from London to Glasgow?
I am perfectly familiar with (some, if not most) Scottish cities thank you - but that is not the bloody point.

Our favourite country park, with a fantastic play area, is only five miles from home but actually in the next county.
I'm not sure we should be going now, and haven't done since last year, even though we invariably have the play area to ourselves!

The bloody point seems to be that some people have lost sight of the big picture and seem to have nothing better to do with their time than split hairs and complain it's "not fair".

Yes, England Soupy

Thanks for everyone's input here but I'm still concerned not to get a fine and would just like something definitive.
Like others, I can walk out of my front door and keep on walking in a "loop" for an hour but it's much quieter if I drive first. Given that my daughter's friend was fined at just under 4 miles, I'm keen to get a handle on "the rules".

Maybe as someone suggested, each area is interpreting it differently. I can find nothing on my local police or council website.

Oh, and I'm not complaining growstuff, just thought someone might have a link to the facts.

There are few places to walk where I live in a busy small town. We all spend the time trying to avoid each other. Theres a lovely beach 15 minutes drive. But we can't go there.
My favourite NT property has said we should only go if we live locally. So that's out.
What is wrong with driving somewhere as long as you keep your distance from others?

I have now emailed my local police. Maybe they have chapter and verse...

Indeed! Most are taped off.

If fines are issued I would have thought there should be a legal definition of just how far you can be from home.

'Local area' is too imprecise.

From the government's website:

You should minimise time spent outside your home, but you can leave your home to exercise. This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.

Already had an answer from my local police. Super fast! I said I was aware I could drive to an "open space" and asked:

I'm keen to clarify how far is reasonable for someone to drive to an open space please?
I know that some people have been fined at nature reserve quite close to their home in a neighbouring county. Obviously it's nicer to walk in the countryside than "round the block".

The reply:

Thanks for your message. We're unable to answer these specific questions - Please refer to the government website for the latest guidance:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
here you will find the answers to your questions.
Take care and stay safe

Riverwalk yes, so imprecise- this is what I'd already found - also on the government website in the section on exercise.

This should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)

I have no car to drive somewhere open and pleasant to walk. Until the weather deteriorated I could go round the block, but with ice and snow to negotiate I('m staying off the pavements - in any case there is a steep hill in the circuit, which leaves me puffing. So I walk round inside the house, in and out of each ground floor room, round the dining table, along the hall, behind the sofa.

There is always a cusp to general rules, where you come just outside the permitted behaviour, and feel it is unfair that you can't do what is just that bit beyond what is Ok for someone else. It is like the threshold for getting help with rent - if you are just above it you can end up worse off than someone who started poorer but is now eligible for various things.

Look on the bright side - at least you can drive to places like supermarkets, GPs, vaccinations.

nadateturbe

There are few places to walk where I live in a busy small town. We all spend the time trying to avoid each other. Theres a lovely beach 15 minutes drive. But we can't go there.
My favourite NT property has said we should only go if we live locally. So that's out.
What is wrong with driving somewhere as long as you keep your distance from others?

Sorry but if I were in your shoes I would consider 15 minutes in a car to avoid crowds far more sensible.
I am frankly amazed at police waiting their time fining a woman with children for this when some shops are saying they can’t insist on customers wearing a mask.
In the last fine weather lockdown there were crowds of people huddled together in our huge open green space and not once did I see a sign of police presence nor hear of anyone being over on let alone fined.

My dd and SiL do drive to areas where their young children can run around in complete (COVID-circs) safety. They are lucky in having several such areas within a very short drive.

Personally I can’t see the objection. Walking on pavements in urban or normal residential areas will usually mean encountering other pedestrians who apparently have never heard of social distancing and will make no attempt to move aside or into single file.* And it isn’t necessarily safe to step into the road to avoid them.

*At least that’s what I see every single time I’m out for my daily walk here. Luckily a good part of it is on very quiet roads where you can often walk down the middle of the road for a minute or two, no problem.

But many people won’t have anywhere like that nearby.

As far as I can recall, during the first lockdown the advice was that you could drive somewhere quiet for a walk, as long as the drive there was less than the hour’s exercise.