Grazing the Stray

Despite the very fine weather today and much effort being spent on avoiding my marking, I still ended up with not much to blip.

These sheep are grazing on Walmgate Stray, the traditional pasture of the Freemen of the Walmgate Ward of the City and, at 79 acres, the smallest of the four Strays of York. The council, which manages the Strays, has put up a little laminated notice about 'permissive access'. Well, I assume it is the council, but since it is unsigned it could be anyone and might be another example of the British obsession with telling other people that they cannot do things they have every right to do but you wish they wouldn't.

Anyway, the facts are that in 1947 the Freemen of the Ward handed over the management of Walmgate Stray to the City of York Council "as public open spaces". Which means that I do not need anyone's permission to walk on the Stray, laminated notices or not.