Should hikers have to pass a test to get a walking licence?

Walkers should be made to take a test and have insurance before they are allowed to venture on to Welsh commons, according to one farmer.

Townies should be educated in the ways of the country before being allowed access to the countryside, because of the potential harm they cause to livestock, a meeting of common rights-holders was told.

The Welsh Commons Forum heard that it was becoming more difficult to maintain livestock on the lands because visitors had no understanding of the animals’ natural instincts.

The meeting, held under the auspices of the National Sheep Association, was told the Countryside and Rights of Way Act had placed more of a burden on graziers at a time when stock prices were low and the number of people grazing under common rights had declined.

Reported in the Daily Post newspaper, Neville Powell, chairman of the Black Mountains Graziers Association, said: “Just as people need to be educated before they walk on the roads, they should be educated before they are allowed to have access to the countryside.

“They should not be allowed such access until they’ve passed a test to show they are competent and understand the problems they can create.”

Referring to erosion on the Offa’s Way route, Mr Powell said: “It would make good sense for walkers to pay towards its upkeep, perhaps through insurance. At some stage the farmer has paid for the right to use the common, so why shouldn’t walkers?”

But Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, which began life in 1865 as the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society, said: “Instead of slagging off visitors to the Welsh countryside the farmers and commoners should be welcoming them with open gates.

“While we have little control over the decline in farming, we can have some control over the number of people who visit the Welsh hills and spend money there, staying in farmhouse bed and breakfasts, drinking in local pubs and buying local produce.

“If people are given a warm welcome they might choose to visit Wales‘s spectacular countryside instead of going abroad. And at the same time, the Welsh farmers will have the chance to explain what they do and why we must respect the commons and the grazing they support.

“There have been very few problems generated by the new access rights under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act – but it has created lots of new opportunities to encourage people to enjoy, and to understand, what Wales has to offer.”

Rural affairs minister Elin Jones lauded the contribution the country’s commons made, saying: “Common land is a very important part of the natural and national heritage of Wales, valued for agriculture, recreation, landscape, and nature conservation.

“The graziers amongst us are well aware that the meat produced on our commons is a high quality product. I want Wales to be a country that plays its full part in meeting the challenge of world food security.

“Sustainable livestock farming on common land in Wales will continue to be an essential element in addressing these challenges and maximising the opportunities for Wales.”