Public footpath

The little lane that runs from the A591 to Natland, which was closed after the flooding, has recently re-opened so I decided to take that route to the office, today. This signpost catches my eye sometimes as I pass it, probably because of the name, 'Scroggs Lane'.

There are  a lot of footpaths around here, as you'd imagine, but what always strikes me is that fact that, generally speaking, the don't join up. For the most part they seem to start spontaneously at the edge of the road. For example, there's a lovely looking footpath by Spital Farm on the A65 that looks like it'd be great for running but I simply can't see how to get onto it without running along the A65, which is a hazard too far (for me, at least).

Thinking about footpaths, I ended up on Wikipedia, on the 'Rights of way in England and Wales' page. It's quite interesting if you like the arcana of British law, which I love for its messiness, which is guess is a result of it evolving over time, and also its inconsistency in terms of how it can both specific and vague. 

Look, for example, at Bedford Borough Council's wonderful guidance around what walkers may do, which includes the permission to "admire the view, stop for a rest, have a small picnic on the verge". (I wonder if that it was added to deal with walkers having massive feasts in the middle of the path.)