the men of kankku reply in defence:
Hi Andrew and thank you for your email - I do appreciate you getting in touch with us and although I have no wish to engage in a protracted correspondence, as I live right by the route I'll honour you with a reply.
Firstly, we would dispute the details of your conversation with the driver, (what was actually said is probably half way between what you have both claimed) but we are sorry about any great inconvenience that may have been caused with your group of 5/6 vehicles in Grizedale.
Secondly, although the route is still classified as recommended/suggested driven West to East, 1 way, it was the centre of debate some years ago on safety and environmental grounds.
The reason for the debate were as follows:
Safety
It was generally accepted that other users are directed to walk/cycle on this track in the direction West to East and that passing them on the narrow sections of the trail required for them to stop and for vehicles to drive past them, creating a nuisance and also a hazard should people slip off the bank when being passed by vehicles. (its always safer for a vehicle to stop and pedestrian to walk past it as an East/West direction would support in most encounters)
Environmental
The track surface on the West side is largely moveable and driving uphill was more likely to cause the surface to migrate down the slope than driving downhill.
Implementation
The direction to reverse the suggested 1 way so that is was West/East was agreed but the paperwork wasn't completed before the LDNPA largely disinvested in their management of the trails around 2005/6/7.
The decider for us
When you consider that many of the pedestrians on this trail were parties of 20/30/40 school children, we felt that our moral duty of safety to others, locked in with a strong environmental concern, was of greater importance than our allegiance to an ill thought out and quite frankly dangerous voluntary restraint which it had been agreed should be altered. I suppose we have been left with a situation in which you are being guided to do something which is clearly wrong - not wanting to be silly about it but would you jump off a cliff if the lndpa requested?
Convenient
As an aside, it is convenient for the authorities to witness a bit of infighting amongst users of the trail, it helps to dissipate the objection to their closures, so I would suggest you do what you do for whatever reasons you think are more powerful and we will do the same.
To Consider
Whilst I'm not asking for you to agree with us, you are free to choose what direction you travel in, safe or unsafe, damaging or undamaging, East or West, perhaps just accept that in this case we consider our moral duty to be of higher authority than our allegiance to the restraint.
Regards
Nick Fieldhouse
MEN OF KANKKU - OFF ROAD DRIVING
Victoria Street Windermere LA231AD
