A Plea to Cyclists

We want to say a massive thank you to all our visitors who are doing their very best to keep to the 2 metre (6’6”) distance from other visitors.   We are seeing visitors spread out more and finding areas perhaps they have not used before, which is great!

This change to all our routines is hard and we are all having to adjust how we live, work and exercise.  Here on the Commons we have to strike a balance between protecting our visitors, and indeed our staff, and ensuring the Commons can continue to function as long as possible.    

This past weekend saw fewer visitor numbers than the previous one, but we are still experiencing issues with cycling.  These generally fall into two areas: 

Families cycling on non-cycling paths and across the golf course – cycling is a great way to get out and exercise but as we mentioned last week, our Byelaws are still in place and this does require you to keep to the permitted cycle paths.  We understand many of you will not be aware of where you can and can’t cycle on the Commons so today we have put out more notices with cycling maps to help. Please keep your younger charges close to your family group.

Speed cyclists - you are not keeping the required 2 metre distance from others, cycling far too fast on busy paths and not giving other visitors an opportunity to get out of your way. PLEASE SLOW DOWN!

We do not want to have to take the same action as has been taken in neighbouring Richmond Park and ban cycling but unless we can keep cycling on the Commons safe and under control, we will need to give the matter serious consideration. 

We ask all of you to work with us and be kind and considerate to everyone. 

Finally, don’t forget our Activities in Nature page on our website.  We are building up a list of activities for anyone (of any age) needing inspiration for things to do and have expanded this to include some links to non-nature related activities because they look like fun!  If you have any recommendations we can add to the list, do let us know.