The Walna Scar Road – To Drive or Not to Drive

Recently, on my way back from a hike in the Coniston Fells, I chanced upon an ITV News reporter and cameraman filming at the bottom of Walna Scar Road. At first glance, Walna Scar does not appear to be the most newsworthy or even the most interesting location to film, although it transpired that the reason for his presence was the fact that the road had been closed to motor traffic earlier that morning.

I was under the impression that this trail was only open to walkers, bikers and horseback riders, but this, until that morning, was not the case. In fact, there have been several court battles to determine the status of the Walna Scar and similar actions are taking place over Garburn Pass in the eastern lakes.

At first glance, you may wonder who would want to drive on tracks like these, since doing so would damage the average car with no guarantee of making it to the other side. However, it seems that companies that offer off-road driving experiences are the main opponents of traffic-free status and I can see their side of the argument: they need a place to be able to offer their services just like those that offer dirt bikes and quads. excursions.

This brings us to a debate similar to the 10 knot speed limit imposed on Windermere in 2005, which effectively banished power boats and water skiers from the lake. They weren’t banned as such, but 10 knots (less than 12 mph) is an insufficient speed for jet skiing or motorboat fun, so they went elsewhere. The ban was unpopular with water sports enthusiasts, but at the end of the day some of their activities were a danger to other users of the lake.

My personal opinion in favor of the ban is based on the fact that if I am walking or cycling on this trail I am not endangering other users, causing distress to livestock or wildlife, or inflicting an undue amount of damage to the track itself. As soon as one drives a motor vehicle here, although this would not be the case. Aside from the physical danger to others, there is the element of noise to consider. Our major highways and cities are plagued with traffic noise and pollution and we come to places like Lakeland Fells to escape things like the roar of engines.

I don’t pretend to have an answer that will keep everyone happy here, that’s why the case is in court, but the Forestry Commission operates a good system on their logging roads. The routes are closed to private motorized traffic, but are open for use by pedestrians, cyclists and, to my knowledge, horseback riders, but the Forestry Commission’s own logging vehicles use the roads to access timber and other users must yield to them. pass if found. In the case of Walna Scar and other disputed routes, I would suggest a similar arrangement where farmers and emergency services can use the road, plus quarry vehicles in the case of Walna Scar, but with the routes closed to private motorized traffic.

I may not agree with the motorized users here, but I have at least outlined their point of view. For legal arguments that I won’t attempt to explain, I have placed a link at the bottom of this article to GLEAM, which is a lobby group that campaigns through the legal system to keep motorized vehicles out of our green lanes and detours to preserve them as a safe place for walkers, cyclists and horseback riders.