Those wee irritating things - !

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mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
And do you report the offenders? Dumping damaging shoot across the highway is an offence under the Highways Act 1980 s148. Cutters scattering thorns are little better than those idiots scattering tacks across popular cycle routes.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
That makes 3 of us.

On a related note, I once called the carncil highways to grass up a farmer who'd left an obscene amount of mud on the road. I jokingly commented that they carncil should send the bill for cleaning up the mess to the culprits, and she replied "oh, we do that alright." Perhaps if we grassed on a few of these hedge manglers and they had to pay for the clean up then they might be a bit more careful next time.
It's not always their problem.
It could be a contractor doing it for a landowner who isn't the one working the fields.

No excuse for it though. Chain flails make a bigger mess than a mower, but are at less risk of damage so will be worked quicker.
 

Lovacott

Über Member
Don't you just love it when a tractor with a shredding attachment goes down the road trimming the hedgerow - and scatters twigs and thorns all over the cycle path next to said hedgerow - ! :cursing: One of my pals copped a puncture on the way into work because of it, I went onto the road and will have to keep to the road both ways until said debris has dispersed or possibly been cleared. :angry: Don't hold my breath - ! :whistle:
I've had this a few times recently on the lanes I use. It's a Hobson's choice situation really.

If the farmers didn't cut the hedges, by the summer, there would be no lanes to cycle along and my journey would be 50% longer down nasty main A roads.
 

IaninSheffield

Veteran
Location
Sheffield, UK
As a yoof, I don't remember seeing hedge cutting at all; perhaps I just didn't range as far and wide in those days.
Hair was longer in those days too.Wonder if the need to scalp hedges to within an inch of their lives is following a coiffuring trend? 🤔
 

Drago

Legendary Member
I think a lot of it is down to respect for those around you, a commodity that is sadly lacking these days and this extends to many (not all by any means) farmers. Destructive hedge clippings left on the ground, mud all over the road, unlwafully ploughing up footpaths as a matter of routine, all symptoms of a do-the-minimum-work-necessay-and-sod-everyone-else attitude. Imaging the state of the world if everyone was that lassez faire with their behaviour.

The the problem gets worse when carncils get contractors in to manage highways, and you end up having to quote regulations over the phone to them because they don't know. Even worse, they habe a financial imperative to do the minimum they can get away with instead of a thoroigh and efficient job.
 
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simongt

simongt

Guru
Location
Norwich
The local council do send one of those wee sweeper contraptions along this particular cycle path occasionally, so let's see if thy're up for it soon. :whistle:
 
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T4tomo

Guru
It seems if you get 3 different people to complain that a said situation is dangerous, the council will act. have to that every year when the the verge grass near us grows so ih you cant see cars coming down the dual carriage way. nothing happens if just one person complains, so a coordinated approach from neighbours is now adopted.
 

ChrisEyles

Guru
Location
Devon
Hedge trimming around me is so bad it's not really sensible to ride nice road tyres between October and February. I must have had a dozen or so punctures before swapping tyres to some Schwalbe marathons - which are so far keeping away the puncture fairy, but do feel distinctly less nice to ride.

Incidentally hedge flailing is a perfectly acceptable component of hedgerow management from a wildlife point of view. The dense bushy growth that flailing encourages is good for breeding birds. The problem is when a hedge is repeatedly flailed year on year and never re-laid, the trees/pleachers lose their vigour and you start to get a gappy hedge with lots of empty space, which is much less good for birds & small mammals. You only really want to lay a hedge every 10 years or so, and if you don't trim/flail it in the mean time you'll also lose that dense bushy structure which is beneficial for wildlife. Ideally you'd want to flail different sections on a rotational basis every couple of years, and leave some bits uncut between laying to provide a broad range of habitat, but the "neat'n'tidy" approach of flailing everything to death every year seems to be favoured by most landowners.

Sorry... been doing a fair bit of hedge laying this winter, one of my favourite jobs!
 

ChrisEyles

Guru
Location
Devon
I'm pretty sure a bigger problem is flailers failing to finish the job by clearing the debris off the highway. And cyclists who don't complain about it, leaving other cyclists to suffer deflations.

It's certainly a proper nuisance for cyclists! I've never had a flat from a hawthorn/blackthorn shard on a car / motorbike, which I guess is what most flailing contractors will be considering when tidying up (or not) after a job. Unfortunately it's probably easier to fit and put up with puncture resistant tyres than it is to convince those doing the work to clean up properly afterwards.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
It's certainly a proper nuisance for cyclists! I've never had a flat from a hawthorn/blackthorn shard on a car / motorbike, which I guess is what most flailing contractors will be considering when tidying up (or not) after a job. Unfortunately it's probably easier to fit and put up with puncture resistant tyres than it is to convince those doing the work to clean up properly afterwards.
Puncture resistant is not puncture proof. I've had hawthorn go through kevlar-lined tyres before.

Thorns injure some animals too, both wild and pet.

Some worthwhile things are not easy.
 

ChrisEyles

Guru
Location
Devon
Puncture resistant is not puncture proof. I've had hawthorn go through kevlar-lined tyres before.

Thorns injure some animals too, both wild and pet.

Some worthwhile things are not easy.

All valid points. I know the thorns bloody hurt when you get one stuck right in your hand when laying a hedge!

Interesting question as to whether cyclists have the right to expect that roads (and bridleways for that matter) should be enjoyable / in a good state to cycle (as opposed to drive) on - my feeling has always been that this is not a consideration for Highways England and PRoW council bodies (after all a puncture is annoying but rarely a serious safety risk). Fortunately it's usually possible to find an alternative (albeit perhaps slightly less scenic) route around these parts. Not trying to defend this position, just musing.

At least modern tyres are by and large considerably more puncture resistant than they were decades ago.
 
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