PUBLIC FOOTPATHS -- The public footpaths in Kingstone and Thruxton have been officially open for the past few weeks. The local footpath officer has walked some of the paths, but has found others totally impassable due to nettles and undergrowth or due to crops. In places it is hard to follow the path at all, after a summer season in which they have all been closed. His advice to walkers is to proceed with care and realise that the walk may not be much fun in places. A letter has been sent to local farmers asking them to open bolted gates and help to re-establish the blocked routes. However, his advice is to avoid livestock. Even though you may legally have right of way, it would seem prudent not to venture through fields of cattle and sheep, just in case. He also advises walkers to be sympathetic towards the farmers. They have had a bad time lately and confrontations with walkers are unhelpful. Hopefully, the foot and mouth will not return and next spring hiking can resume again without problems.