Haughmond Hill Car Park and Picnic Site

had a lovely day what would have made it better was if the toilets had been open

3 Stars

Had a lovely walk on saturday, but as stated by others, there are so many thoughtless and selfish dog owners who let their dogs foul the pathways and do nothing to move the excrement.

Thank you for all your comments we are aware of the issues regarding dog mess in the vicinity of the trails and picnic area and struggle to encourage people to manage their dogs in a responsible manner. I hope the points below will help you understand where we are with this; Why don■■t we provide bins for dog mess? ■F■nThey don■■t work ■V from extensive experience of managing sites we know that bins don■■t solve the problem, dog owners who don■■t pick up continue not to do so regardless of the presence of bins. ■F■nCost ■V The cost of maintenance of the bins is huge at a time when we have to reduce public spending on all levels. ■F■nWoodland ethics ■V This is a working woodland not a park, we don■■t have litterbins because of the damage caused to and by wildlife, this is the same for dog mess bins. Why is this a big issue? ■F■nUnpleasant ■V It spoils the visit for everyone ■F■nDangerous ■V Haughmond is popular with young families. Children are at a higher risk of contracting Toxocariasis (caused by roundworm) which can infect the soil the faeces comes in contact with too. In extreme cases this can cause blindness. ■F■nUnnecessary ■V This is a woodland, your dog can relieve itself well off the paths. So what do you want us to do? ■F■nEncourage your dog to foul away from the paths ■F■nIf this fails please take a stick and flick the mess into the woods away from where people will walk. This problem at Haughmond ebbs and flows, I am not sure why it is particularly bad at the moment. If you wish to contact me directly you can do so via the email address on this page.