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LIKE MANY WHO THINK about where they’d like to retire, we’ve always had a vague list of wants: comfortable climate, walkability, good health care, access to cultural events and outdoor activities, friendly tax regime, reasonable cost of living, that sort of thing.
I wrote previously about feeling stuck for many years in a place where we didn’t want to stay, but also not really having one place where we felt drawn to settle, whether for a few years or permanently. Spending three months in England has influenced our thinking about what we want. Unfortunately, it may have also made that place harder to find.
One of the things we’ve really enjoyed here is having the countryside on our doorstep and being able to walk it easily, including between towns. We’ve had days when we leave our charming town, walk across a few gently rolling pastures to have coffee or lunch in the next charming town, and walk through others for a different route back home. We’ve hit 10,000 steps by midday more times than I care to count. Sometimes, we meet another friendly walker along the way, and other times it’s just us.
In England and Wales, people have the legal right to use designated public footpaths or bridleways. Some of these are prehistoric routes that have been trod since ancient times. Others are of more recent vintage. In either case, once they’re so designated, they must be respected, and they form a vast network. To my understanding, Scotland goes even further, with a generally accepted “right to roam” in the countryside, footpath or not.
An interesting thing about these paths is that they often cross private land. We’ve walked one that crossed a field of vegetables, another that crossed through someone’s lawn, and many that crossed pastures of cattle or sheep. Both the cattle and the sheep are mildly curious about us if our path takes us close to them, or indifferent if it doesn’t. By the way, you’ll find these paths in towns too, where they create shortcuts that allow you to walk without vehicle traffic.
In addition to this network of paths, there are other areas designated as simply common land, on which you can veer off the paths and explore more widely. These have usually been “commons” for centuries. Last week, we walked a path that crossed ancient common land that now includes a golf course. You legally have the right to walk down the middle of the fairway, but it’s probably advisable to stick to the sides.
There are similar traditions in continental Europe, but I’m not aware of anywhere in the U.S. that has a system of public access to private land. If there’s somewhere that does, we’d like to give it a closer look. Now, I know folks are going to comment about places with a great park system or trails on federal land, but this is not that. Nor is it beaches that are considered public, or one abandoned railway line that has been turned into a walking and biking path between towns. All those are great, but what I’m describing is far more extensive.
I wonder if some of New England might have a similar tradition. It seems reasonable, as the English got there and were walking or riding around in the 1600s, so maybe such paths similarly came to be respected. One can hope. Then again, they were walking and riding around my home state of South Carolina almost as long ago, and I wouldn’t walk across someone’s field there.
At one point, our thinking about where to settle prioritized tax and cost of living considerations. Those are still worth thinking about, but over the past few years we’ve realized that other factors are worth paying more for. The past few months have reinforced the importance of certain quality-of-life features. If we learn that tax-unfriendly Vermont or Connecticut is a miniature Cotswolds, we’ll be scheduling a fact-finding mission.
Michael Perry is a former career Army officer and external affairs executive for a Fortune 100 company. In addition to personal finance and investing, his interests include reading, traveling, being outdoors, strength training and coaching, and cocktails. Check out his earlier articles.
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True for Scandinavia as well. While in Sweden I found out that one could cross private property. Now living in Texas, that would unfortunately be quite hazardous. For someone who likes to hike, really makes ma sad… That said, I have seen the downside of areas open to the public. If a popular area, they trash the place 🙁
I know what you mean. We never encountered much trash on the footpaths in England.
I am also interested in looking for a place to retire. Easy on the income and wonderful places to stroll. I would love to hear more about your journeys and what you discover. I especially love England and Scotland and the people there.
Certainly places worth checking out! Thanks for reading.
As Paula says, in Massachusetts, because of a 1600’s law, the waterfront property line extends to the mean low tide line. Consequently, if you want to legally walk on the beach in front of someone’s house you almost always have to wade. The law does allow “fishing, fowling and navigating” as exceptions so most people think you are legal if you are carrying a fishing rod or birdwatching, but as far as I know that has never been tested.
We live on Cape Cod and have walked past many houses on the beach ( always below the high tide line) without every being told to leave. Mind you we just walk, not set up our umbrella etc. ( There are dozens of public beaches for that). There are a few signs, but I only know of one case where there was an issue. One homeowner here had people walking up to his porch, sitting on it, using his bushes for “calls of nature” etc. Security cameras and calls to the police apparently were ineffective, so he finally put up a fence down to the low tide line. This is rare.
on the “outer cape” the beaches are almost all owned by the National Park and you are free to wander as far as you want. There are also dozens of acres of Conservation land with miles of trails to explore. It is a hiker’s paradise.
Thanks for reading. In SC the beach past the high tide line is state/public property, so beach access is even simpler. While public beach and park land aren’t what I’m writing about experiencing in England, they do make for nice walking spaces.
It is similar in Germany! People have the right to walk, bike, etc on private and public lands. Yes, there are rules with penalties – don’t walk on fields for farming, stay on paths (in the forest you can walk anywhere), no camping, dogs on leashes (sometimes), garbage out. In general, be sensible. It’s so nice to get out into nature quickly. In fact, we have a paved path for bikers and walkers along the Rhine river, yes, with wine tasting stands along the way at every village. I gladly pay more taxes here because the wine is cheaper, so, all in, I’m living more frugally than in the US! They call it geo-arbitrage – haha!
I remember some great walking in Germany. Glad you’re enjoying it. To your point re the paved path on the Rhine, I recall a lot of the German countryside having paved walk and bike paths between towns.
Of course there are rules re private land, as there are in the UK. In the latter case for both walkers and landowners, and I imagine in Germany as well.
Hi Michael, glad you’re enjoying the Cotswolds. Many of the rights of way are ancient, some are under attack, and dedicated groups of volunteers try to keep them open. Some of “common land” is owned and cared for by the National Trust. If you haven’t already, you might want to join either the NT, or the US affiliate, Royal Oak.
Thanks Kathy. I enjoy the historical aspect of some of these paths and commons. We certainly miss it. We’re in Spain now and and still doing a lot of walking but it’s not the same.
Thanks for the link as well! Didn’t know about a US affiliate of NT. We may do that before our next visit to the UK.
Michael, thanks for a very interesting article. I had no idea about the U.K.’s system of dedicated public footpaths, though, as in Jamie’s comment below, I’ve always noticed how the English mysteries I read feature a lot of walking!
Haha, yes there’s a lot of walking going in there for sure! Many of the footpaths became what they are over the years because they were the commonly used ways to get from A to B, not for a few hours recreation but for just daily life.
Oregon’s wonderful beaches are open to the public.
Commonly known as the Beach Bill, it established a permanent public easement for access and recreation along the ocean shore seaward of the existing line of vegetation, regardless of ownership. The Beach Bill also set forth a policy, under what is now the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (ORPD), to provide public access to the beach at routine intervals.
The legislature passed the Beach Bill on June 7, 1967. It was signed into law on July 6, 1967.
https://www.oregon.gov/lcd/ocmp/pages/public-access.aspx
There are a number of states that have open beach access. Thanks for reading.
There are rails to trails access available in many areas. This is biking or walking. Pittsburgh has some great trails as does here in Michigan. The advantage of rails to trails is that the grades are minimal and no automobile traffic.
https://www.railstotrails.org/
Minimal compared to what I’m describing but nice to have for sure. We’ve enjoyed a few.
Wisconsin’s Lake Geneva Shore Path is a beautiful 21 mile walk through private estates on an old indian path.
That’s the only one I know in the US.
Sounds like a nice walk. Or at 21 miles maybe a nice few walks.
In New England the public has some rights to walk on private beaches (generally below low tide line but there are various other rules depending on the state). As far as walking on other private lands in New England, unless the landowner has agreed, you are trespassing . The beach laws go back to Colonial times and are controversial. A family member was so tired of people passing through his land to get to allowed walking areas that he sold off most of his Cape Cod property.
Thanks Paula. That’s about what I expected. I know there are great trails in parks and on public land, including beaches in some states, but I’m afraid what I’ve described will be very hard to find in the US.
This project “Rails-to-Trails Conservancy” is aimed at setting up something similar in the US.
https://www.railstotrails.org/about
Garrie, thanks for the link. Though tiny in comparison to the footpath network in England and Wales, this seems like a great initiative.
Not the same as what the author describes. Rails to Trails converts abandoned railroad right of ways to usable walking/biking trails.
I know, but it’s a start.
We lived in our humble editor’s UK homeland for 3 years and also enjoyed it’s unique trail system connecting many charming villages. We also liked the Hadrian’s Wall trail.
Several zero income tax states do offer plentiful hiking. Our state of New Hampshire offers more than 4,000 miles of trails of varying difficulty and absolutely fantastic weather for half the year. I am pursuing the 52-With-a-View peakbagging list (18 completed in the last year) which I hike with a local hiking group or my family.
https://sectionhiker.com/new-hampshires-52-with-a-view-a-hikers-guide/
Thanks John, we look forward to checking out your area at some point. I have a friend who used to hike those trails a lot. Most are in the White Mountains National Park and other parks if I’m not mistaken.
Indeed, the White Mountains are currently stunning with peak color but will likely be diminshed with the incoming tropical storm.
Michael, you reminded me of Miss Ruth, a lady I met a couple of decades ago. She lived in a neighborhood her contractor husband had developed, where he had built custom homes. He had retained ownership of property that formed a walking path that wended its way throughout the neighborhood.
I don’t know of anything like your description in our part of the country, but there is a remnant of the tradition of relatively free access to roaming. When I was younger, most land owners did not greatly restrict walking access to their property. In my current home, I wouldn’t refuse a courteous request from someone in the neighborhood to have a walk in the woods or pastures, and I would feel at ease on the surrounding property, after letting them know ahead of time.
Thanks Ed. Lucky Miss Ruth! Our last neighborhood also had a “built in” walking path and was also next to a conservation area.
I’m not sure I’d agree that there’s a tradition of relatively free access to roaming. I’m not in your area, but needing to ask permission to cross an area isn’t really free access. That said, if it’s easy to do there, that’s great.
This was fifty years ago in a small town surrounded by farms and woodlands, where there were very few strangers in the community. It wasn’t Mayberry, but trusting and trustworthiness was the norm.
A generation before, my teenage father would begin the morning walking from his small town to hunt quail. He would eat lunch with his aunt, then hunt back toward home. A different time. More people bring necessary protections from property owners, but I try to be accommodating.
You draw a great picture of your time in England—hard to give up!
Enjoyed your stroll through the countryside. I have limited experience in those small villages. We have friends who live in Edenfield who we visit. I feel very comfortable there. I don’t think you will find much similar here. I think we gave that way of life up in 1776.
Glad you enjoyed it. By the way, the paths exist in and between metro areas too, not just between villages.
I suspect you’re right we won’t find much similar in the US. Fortunately Americans can stay six months on a tourist visa.
The Slow Ways project aims to create a national network of walking routes connecting all of Great Britain’s towns and cities as well as thousands of villages.
Thanks for mentioning that. Slow Ways is working to create the network in the sense of mapping it. The footpaths themselves already exist, although there are some that are unregistered, which SW also hopes to fix. Unfortunately, if you use a navigation app like Google or Apple Maps, it will very often send you along an actual road, as it doesn’t know about these footpaths. The Slow Ways initiative will hopefully change that.
I have always wondered if the villages I read about in my favorite British mystery novels are really as idyllic as they seem!
Some are, and some are “just some village.” To Dick’s comment on closeness of things, we stayed in one village that had one pub, but was a pleasant 25-30 minute walk from a town with several more venues as well as stores and a library. (While we were there the village had a charity “tea,” aka bake sale, that was amazing.) Then again, we stayed in one town that was beautiful and historic, had pubs and nicer restaurants, but no grocery store aside from one very small convenience. So one can’t assume; check your place if you go.
Just to add, we also enjoyed those in the “just some village” category, including nice walks around and between them.
Yup, many are and everything in the village is close. The drinking and driving rules are so strict being able to walk to the pub is essential.
Your local pub is (or was) an extension of your living room and a local gathering spot. If you have to drive to it it isn’t a local.