Taylor's Trail

Here's today's trail route from my Garmin. Unfortunately, due to old age, I forgot to turn the darned thing on at the start but you'll get the idea. The pedants amongst you will see that Clipper point one was was accurately taken!!!! I was a pleasure to venture in pastures new.

THE MAGNIFICENT 7, FYFIELD, FOOTPATH ACCESS ISSUES

DO YOU REMEMBER THIS RACE? The one where the old lady insisted that you walked the footpath thru' her field to avoid disturbing her cattle? Well here's some information that i've received from the highways authority legal depatment regarding our rights-

“There is control in the Road Traffic Act 1988 over cycle racing on public ways (including bridleways) and on the use of footpaths and bridleways for motor cycle trials. However there is no restriction on the use of public highways for races on foot though of course there is a need to respect other traffic on such highways which might be met.

In using cross field paths there is the practical consideration of keeping to the path and not straying on to the landowner's property. Any path is likely to be narrow and to pass other ramblers or fellow racers may mean wandering off the path. That in itself might create tensions. Also if there are to be large numbers of people running across fields where livestock are kept there might be an unpredictable impact upon the disposition of the animals. In the case of an organised event it would therefore make sense and would be a matter of common courtesy to tell the farmers in advance so that they might make alternative arrangements should they wish.

Section 2 of the Animals Act 1971 makes the keeper of an animal liable for damages if it injures another person provided that the keeper was aware of the animal's tendency to cause injury. The liability does not arise if the injury is the fault of the injured party. Runners might of cause "spook" animals by their activity and that is good reason to warn the farmer of their intentions in advance to mitigate any risk.

Consideration should be given by event organisers whether they should seek an order under section 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to restrict traffic including pedestrians to enable the event to take place.”

The Council have been very helpful and I hope that this helps you understand your rights and responsibilities when using footpaths. At the end of the day, we're just enjoying the countryside in the most harmless of ways. Whilst animal issues can be very real, I feel that we are all responsible people and will do all that we can to avoid upsetting livestock. I'll ask the landowner to keep the animals in if we use this particular path next year.

DEDHAM TRAIL 6.8.07

5 B Team members travelled 8,000 miles to the very edge of Northen Essex last night to partake in a search for a policeman. Despite a 6.2 mile beautifully undulating cross country course centred in and around the historic small town of Dedham, we didn't even get to run past the home of the most famous Constable of all! So here he is -

The Haywain by John Constable, is probably one of the most famous of all English paintings. Many a home has a print, but relatively few people know the story behind it.
John Constable was born in East Bergholt, Suffolk, England on 11th June 1776. Initially his father, Golding Constable wanted young John to join him is his prosperous corn business. By 1799 however it was obvious that John loved nothing more than drawing, so he was given an allowance to study at the Royal Academy in London. The art world was slow to recognize his talents. Landscapes were not considered very important in his day, so he had to produce a few portraits for his income. He would often spend his Summers in East Anglia, making sketches ready for them to be transformed into his beautiful works when he returned to his home in London. During these early years he created such works as Boatbuilding near Flatford Mill (1814-15) which can be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
In 1819 he moved to Hampstead Heath on the outskirts of London. By this time his father had died, so he was more financially secure. He was now producing his best work, including The Haywain in 1821. The work was based on many sketches he had produced, many of which still survive. In 1824 The Haywain was exhibited in Paris, where it won a gold medal. The painting caused a stir amongst the French art critics, who were astonished by its freshness. In his later years he lectured, still trying to popularize landscape painting, but he died in 1837 with none of the fame he now has.

So there you have it- run and learn!!!!!!!

the Dave Game history trail......

Today's (2.8.08) old boy's 10 miler was organised by our very own Dave Game who recently gave up full time employment so that he can dedicate the rest of his life to his main passion of trail running. Today's run was a little special, starting and finishing in the smoke free (yes!) Jack and Jenny in Witham, Dave took us around local villages giving various researched talks en route. The picture on the left is of some old wooden bridge over a dirty old river. Apparently it's the last wooden ailway bridge in existence!! Fortunately Howard had a phone with a camera and instantly mastered the new to him art of e mailing the picture. I rec'd it over a pint in the pub and we all thought that it would liven up the blog by having something other than Google Earth maps!

The shadow on the right of the shot is Springfields very own Richard Taylor who, by the way, is organising the Thursday 16.8 trail from South Woodam Ferrers. Richard has guaranteed to base his route on the local topography ( being a fine geography tutor). The team can't wait for Sue and John Clarke's math based Thursday bash. It will be a fine ''addition'' to our ''division'' (doh!)