Veteran traveller's anger on the road to Appleby (From The Westmorland Gazette)
When news happens, text KENEWS and your photos and videos to 80360. Or contact us by email or phone.
Veteran traveller's anger on the road to Appleby
10:00am Thursday 31st May 2012 in Kirkby Lonsdale news
By Allan Tunningley
Buck Lowther
A VETERAN traveller to Appleby Horse Fair has claimed he is being treated as a ‘second class citizen’ after being banned from setting up his traditional roadside camp outside Kirkby Lonsdale.
Buck Lowther says he has stopped off at the same place on the A65 for the past six decades – but restrictions imposed over the past two years have left him struggling to find an alternative camp.
This year, the 66-year-old and his extended family set up for more than a week on a wide grass verge opposite New House Caravan Park, but he says police told him it was an illegal site and they would not be allowed to camp there again.
“It’s just like what they did to the American Indians – they’ll end up putting us in reservations,” said Mr Lowther.
He and his family are among the thousands of people currently making their way to Appleby for the ancient fair – the largest in Europe. This year, it is being held from June 7-13.
“I’ve travelled to Appleby for the last 60 years,” said Mr Lowther. “My father was a horse dealer and we’d always stop on the roadside just outside Kirkby Lonsdale. But they fenced off the verge where we usually stay, so we had to find somewhere else.
“The police wanted to move us on straight away but I said: ‘Where can we go?’ They said we could stay this time but we would not be allowed in the future.
“It’s an attack on my traditional way of life. I feel like I’m being treated as a second class citizen.”
Local councils and Cumbria Police say they have striven to improve the situation for travellers heading for Appleby and last year’s generally trouble-free event was hailed a success by all involved, including many Appleby residents.
The authorised transit site at Devil’s Bridge, Kirkby Lonsdale, which opened on Monday, is officially for 20 caravans; but more than that number were parked there yesterday.
A spokeswoman for South Lakeland District Council said: “The council works closely with the police and other interested parties in ensuring disruption is kept to a minimum during the Appleby Fair. Extra areas for parking are allocated to prevent any inconvenience to local residents. If anyone has any issues regarding Appleby Fair then we urge them to contact us so we can discuss them.”
Police are continuing to get ready for Appleby Fair with new maps being created to highlight route information and improvements being made to stopping place sites.
The map can be found at the following link: www.cumbria.police.uk/applebyfairmap
Comments(36)
Ben Berry
says...
11:27am Thu 31 May 12
ACM wrote:Here here!
Here we go again! If the law says you can't do something, you don't do it. But if a traveller is told the law says he can't do something, it's discrimination!
Like all sections of society there are parts of the travelling community that continue to cause issues for the general populace.
If breaking the law is part of ones traditional life then im afraid some people wont put up with it!
zaney5
says...
12:15pm Thu 31 May 12
You said it.
offcomer
says...
2:29pm Thu 31 May 12
But the travellers have kept in line with the authorities rules in terms of sticking to the allocated areas rather than causing trouble.
Like everyone in society they have a right to speak out against discrimination which Buck is exercising here.
To suggest breaking the law is part of the tradition of any ethnic minority’s way of life is racist.
rodtrail
says...
2:37pm Thu 31 May 12
AS REGARDS THE ONE WHO SAYS HE HAS STOPPED FOR 6 DECADES ON THE SAME BIT OFF GRASS WE DIDNT SEE THEM HELPING THE COUNCIL PICK UP ALL THE DIRT AND SCRAP REMAINS THEY ALL LEFT
ITS HIGH TIME APPLEBY FAIR WAS STOPPED THE DAYS HAVE GONE WHEN REAL TRAVELLERS DIDNT HAVE ALL THE TRAFFIC TO CONTEND WITH AND RESPECTED THE SURROUNDING AREAS AND PEOPLE .
ACM
says...
2:50pm Thu 31 May 12
tictoc1
says...
3:12pm Thu 31 May 12
offcomer
says...
3:14pm Thu 31 May 12
Does this mean we should close all the pubs, board up our windows and stop shopping?
By Rodtrail's logic surely we should. Just because a few people misbehave the whole community should not be tarnished with the same brush.
People should see the mess left behind after Kendal Calling, but no-one who attends that is expected to stay behind and clean up.
Hugh G. Rection
says...
3:24pm Thu 31 May 12
...from what I can see through the filthy smog of his cigarette smoke, anyway.
Ah, bless the travelling community and their traditional way of life - petty crime, dishonesty, bare-knuckle fighting, making no worthwhile contribution to civilised society...
tictoc1
says...
3:31pm Thu 31 May 12
offcomer wrote:Because a particular layby/stopping place has now been fenced off is not a racist attack on an ethnic minorities way off life. When the traffic system in Kendal was all changed around a few years ago, it was not a racist attack against the locals. It's not just travellers that cannot stop there now. Not all travellers have kept in line and it's probably that small minority of travellers that are ruining things for others, but if we, the general public, speak out about it, we're being racist or are threatened.
This story is not about the travellers breaking the law. This is about the local community setting up a bylaw (not part of the criminal law system) that targets the travellers' traditional journey when making their way to the horse fair. But the travellers have kept in line with the authorities rules in terms of sticking to the allocated areas rather than causing trouble. Like everyone in society they have a right to speak out against discrimination which Buck is exercising here. To suggest breaking the law is part of the tradition of any ethnic minority’s way of life is racist.
oceancloud
says...
3:35pm Thu 31 May 12
Presumably the people who run Kendal Calling clean up all the mess and not the council at tax payers expense.
LivingInCumbria
says...
5:26pm Thu 31 May 12
zaney5
says...
7:05pm Thu 31 May 12
What, like these illegal camps they set up themselves, effectively segregating themselves from the rest of community? Get a grip, if travellers end up in "reservations", it's only cos they put themselves there.
aimzygal
says...
7:55pm Thu 31 May 12
lakesailor
says...
11:34pm Thu 31 May 12
Join the real world.
Every year there is some trouble at Appleby (young lad's pony stolen, girl raped, horse drowned, etc).
Funny how it only happens when the travellers are there.
aimzygal
says...
7:06am Fri 1 Jun 12
lakesailor
says...
9:37am Fri 1 Jun 12
It isn't only the travellers who feel put-upon.
cpossy
says...
12:58pm Sat 2 Jun 12
zaney5
says...
3:30pm Sat 2 Jun 12
cpossy wrote:What on earth does how many generations you have in a graveyard got to do with some pikey getting his undies in a twist cos he has to do what all decent citizens have to do, and that is abide by the law?
Line them all up and execute by firing squad!! Every last man, woman and child. Then why don't you start next with Holgarth followed by Kirkbarrow and.......who is next on your list to exterminate and dominate?? What makes me laugh probably half the comments come from people who do not have three generations in the local graveyard. Get a grip and think of all those poor souls worldwide who have to suffer from hordes of stuck up, arrogant, drunken English holiday makers. Whats the difference? And no I am not a pikey, just a local resident with more than seventeen generations in the local graveyard sick of you moaning B******S
Spotty Fish
says...
4:48pm Sat 2 Jun 12
cpossy
says...
4:57pm Sat 2 Jun 12
cpossy
says...
5:03pm Sat 2 Jun 12
cpossy
says...
5:03pm Sat 2 Jun 12
cpossy
says...
5:09pm Sat 2 Jun 12
cpossy
says...
5:56pm Sat 2 Jun 12
Spotty Fish wrote:Have mentioned it on numerous occasions to get them out more but some family members do not see the funny side!! Probably the same stiff's above which I am complaining about......
Seventeen generations? May I suggest your family gets out more.
Spotty Fish
says...
9:46am Sun 3 Jun 12
You may be local, but obviously don't live on the route the travellers take to Appleby. If you did I don't think you would be so quick to defend them, or call the rest of us smug, banal, moaning b******s.
Come back and have a rant at us when your family is properly settled in.
zaney5
says...
11:16am Sun 3 Jun 12
cpossy wrote:And again, I ask you, what is that got to do with your family's occupation of the local graveyard?
Actually the article is a complaint from a pikey about current legisation, new or otherwise, which prevents him from staying on a plot of land which he has used for some time. (60 years if the pikey is to be believed, but that is a different issue). My complaint is the narrow minded citizens who have jumped the gun and accused the pikey of every crime committed within the county bounds of Westmorland and probably surrounding areas.
Or are you trying to say,in a roundabout way, that because you're obviously so local, that your opinion matters more than everyone elses?
Yes, he may have camped there for 60 years but times change, roll with it.
And where on earth is anyone accusing him of every crime committed in the local area?
And yes, I may be sat writing behind a computer, but believe me, it's nothing I wouldn't say to your face directly. Or the pikeys for that matter.
tictoc1
says...
12:37pm Sun 3 Jun 12
cpossy wrote:Where is this person local to? Cumbria? Kendal? Surely if that were the case, they would know that it's "Hallgarth" and not "Holgarth"! Also, the article is reffering to travellers, not pikeys!So if you're defending them, at least call them what they are. I, for one, do have 3 generations in a graveyard, in Windermere, I think that could class as local! And for someone who is "sick of you moaning B******S" you're doing a pretty good job of moaning yourself!
Line them all up and execute by firing squad!! Every last man, woman and child. Then why don't you start next with Holgarth followed by Kirkbarrow and.......who is next on your list to exterminate and dominate?? What makes me laugh probably half the comments come from people who do not have three generations in the local graveyard. Get a grip and think of all those poor souls worldwide who have to suffer from hordes of stuck up, arrogant, drunken English holiday makers. Whats the difference? And no I am not a pikey, just a local resident with more than seventeen generations in the local graveyard sick of you moaning B******S
kj2009
says...
7:52pm Sun 3 Jun 12
Remember Jesus loves everyone.
tictoc1
says...
9:52pm Sun 3 Jun 12
Reverend Mark
says...
10:44pm Sun 3 Jun 12
cpossy wrote:You narrow minded in-bred old G*T.
Line them all up and execute by firing squad!! Every last man, woman and child. Then why don't you start next with Holgarth followed by Kirkbarrow and.......who is next on your list to exterminate and dominate?? What makes me laugh probably half the comments come from people who do not have three generations in the local graveyard. Get a grip and think of all those poor souls worldwide who have to suffer from hordes of stuck up, arrogant, drunken English holiday makers. Whats the difference? And no I am not a pikey, just a local resident with more than seventeen generations in the local graveyard sick of you moaning B******S
Reverend Mark
says...
10:48pm Sun 3 Jun 12
cpossy wrote:You narrow minded in-bred old G*T.
Line them all up and execute by firing squad!! Every last man, woman and child. Then why don't you start next with Holgarth followed by Kirkbarrow and.......who is next on your list to exterminate and dominate?? What makes me laugh probably half the comments come from people who do not have three generations in the local graveyard. Get a grip and think of all those poor souls worldwide who have to suffer from hordes of stuck up, arrogant, drunken English holiday makers. Whats the difference? And no I am not a pikey, just a local resident with more than seventeen generations in the local graveyard sick of you moaning B******S
cpossy
says...
11:44pm Sun 3 Jun 12
zaney5 wrote:Start from the top of the comments and scroll down, the answer lies within........
cpossy wrote:And again, I ask you, what is that got to do with your family's occupation of the local graveyard?
Actually the article is a complaint from a pikey about current legisation, new or otherwise, which prevents him from staying on a plot of land which he has used for some time. (60 years if the pikey is to be believed, but that is a different issue). My complaint is the narrow minded citizens who have jumped the gun and accused the pikey of every crime committed within the county bounds of Westmorland and probably surrounding areas.
Or are you trying to say,in a roundabout way, that because you're obviously so local, that your opinion matters more than everyone elses?
Yes, he may have camped there for 60 years but times change, roll with it.
And where on earth is anyone accusing him of every crime committed in the local area?
And yes, I may be sat writing behind a computer, but believe me, it's nothing I wouldn't say to your face directly. Or the pikeys for that matter.
angry of milnthorpe
says...
8:56am Mon 4 Jun 12
cpossy
says...
11:15pm Mon 4 Jun 12
angry of milnthorpe wrote:So would I....
ok zaney5, if you belive that you'd say these things directly to the travellers faces then nows your chance. you wouldnt have to travel far to find some. Id like to see that.
J B Blackett
says...
1:54am Wed 20 Jun 12
.
And there are 59 of my ancestors in the local graveyard that wouldn't want to either.
.
And who put them there , may I ask ? Eh ?
ACM says...
11:00am Thu 31 May 12