Sunday 1 August 2010

The ugly side of the River Derwent

My previous blog was a brief look into one of my local areas that I go to, to escape the day to day madness of life and to enjoy a little bit of the countryside in peace and quite.  Today I went out and saw another, not so nice side of the area – anti social behaviour, vandalism, rubbish left lying around, dog crap everywhere…

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At every entrance to the park are various signs such as the one above and left, pretty clear and not unreasonable rules so that everyone can enjoy the area and it can be maintained for such a purpose.  Going there today to enjoy what promised to be one of the better days of the week weather-wise, but when I arrived there it seemed to be a ‘Charver’ camping convention going on.  (For anyone who doesn’t know what a Charver is try this link http://www.newcastlestuff.com/charver/index.html )

The campsites had rubbish strewn, fires burning and the customary pit bull dogs, all located on the actual pathway so you had to take a detour or walk through their camp.  As well as this, the otherwise tranquil sound of nature was broken by the sound of dogs barking and their owners swearing at them as they tired to keep them under control, other tell tale signs of the dogs were evident all around the paths of which they left I was constantly trying to avoid.  I’ve never understood why people leave rubbish lying around the countryside – if you are going to take food there to eat – as many of us do – and you have obviously bothered to carry it there, why not carry the packaging back with you?

Other signs show why I tend to go out early in the morning to catch wildlife rather than the evening, areas littered with empty cans of lager and bottles of vodka as well as other dubious objects.  It’s ironic that the area has won a ‘Green Flag Award’ for having a well managed, green space for the public to enjoy!

 
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What I would prefer to see along the River Derwent

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