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Green Laners - Jim (17th Feb 2017  18:20:17) Is the term 'Green Laning' a little misleading? Nothing seems to be further than the truth! We have regularly used the BOAT opposite Chiltley Lane for 20 years as walkers. Unfortunately, that is not possible now due to the deep ruts and endless mud that has been caused by these green laners. Last week, we witnessed no less than 9 four wheel drive vehicles all queuing to come out of there on to the Midhurst Road. Now BOAT stands for 'Byway Open To All Traffic'. This one surely isn't! You'd need a 4wd to get even halfway down it now! And the most fun bit of the outing seems to be getting stuck in the flooded area at the far end. Then they tie their winches round the trees in an effort to haul themselves out, often damaging the trees in the process. Is there any way of limiting their 'fun' so that we can all use the BOAT and enjoy the countryside?

Re: Green Laners - Wendy (17th Feb 2017  20:23:31) Known as muddy lane, as a child it was called the 'bomb pits' - used to ride our bikes down there!

Re: Green Laners - Terry (17th Feb 2017  22:14:39) That lane was once a section of the old coach road, often used to avoid Hindhead by coaches travelling from Godalming via Haslemere and along Highfield Lane, across Wheatsheaf Common and out onto the Portsmouth road near to the “The Seven Thorns”, or “The Jolly Sailor” as it probably was at that time. Today the track is known as the Border Path. The map at bywaymap.com (zoom in to see Liphook) Shows that the border path is a restricted use BOAT for three quarters of it's length and marked both with red and orange, the portion off of the Midhurst Road at the bottom of Iron hill, is marked with an unbroken green line, meaning there is no restriction, however, the section in question is marked by a broken green line Which is not explained by the maps key.

Re: Green Laners - tony (18th Feb 2017  10:39:57) If it's an unrestricted byway open to all traffic then they're doing nothing wrong, just having fun. There aren't many places they can do it, all other paths being restricted 100% to walkers (usually taking their dogs out to poo on the lane and bark at us, which is OK with me) with the odd cycle path thrown in, reluctantly. Anyway if you're enjoyment requires that they can't use it, whilst they are happy to share, whose being unreasonable? PS I don't do this although if I could afford a Land Rover and all the overheads I might. I'm not saying mud isn't a nuisance at this time of year, but give and take surely?

Re: Green Laners - liz (20th Feb 2017  08:40:55) Access to the path does not include the right to damage the trees.

Re: Green Laners - cynicalrider (20th Feb 2017  13:31:47) As a defender owner but an also avid walker I can appreciate the frustration. I do very little green-laning myself but know of those who do, and that there opportunities to do so have been increasingly restricted in recent years. It is often done as a social activity hence the presence of several vehicles. If the BOAT is getting really bad, you can apply to the council to have a temporary closure put in place, as often happens. However, as Tony points out, the reason this lane is classified as a BOAT as opposed to a restricted byway, byway, bridlepath or path, is because there is an expectation it will be used by motor vehicles. If you have an issue in future, why not speak directly to the greenlanders [sic] and see what their view is.

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