Nothing new about the country bus route walks

Two other points should be made – this idea did not develop in the Lake District "a few years ago", nor would Colin Speakman have needed convincing in 2009 that it "could work in Yorkshire". Colin has been active in that sort of project for many decades and was rural transport officer for West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council in the early 1980s concentrating on just that sort of thing.

To show how old the idea is, one can go back to late 19th century railway publications offering ideas on how to use trains to get out there and walk – with route details provided. I have a couple of booklets from 90/100 years ago showing the people of Halifax and Bradford how to do linear and circular walks using the tram routes.

Coming through to the 1990s, Calderdale Countryside Service issued an annual series of free leaflets showing walk routes linked to the standard service buses and trains.

Metro did a similar type of booklet for the Holme Valley a few years later, and First Leeds published leaflets specifically related to their Wetherby and Skipton routes. So the idea is not new and I doubt if it hailed originally from Lakeland, but it is still a very good way to get out and walk in the countryside.

The article ends with four specific suggestions. Perhaps you should feed more short bus/ train walk suggestions into Country Week periodically.

From: David Nortcliffe, Cobden Terrace, Hipperholme, Halifax.

From: Bill Forster, Wellington Mews, Ripon.

How many readers realise how much "help" the Government gives to farmers? Defra comprises no less than 67 quangos, employs 28,000 officials and costs over 3,000m a year; work that out for the cost per head of the population.

The Food Standards Agency has 37 committees with inspiring titles like "The Advisory Body for the Delivery of Official Controls" – remember Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister?

Was there ever a Government so gifted at finding jobs for its own boys?

No wonder taxation is so out of control.