Have Health And Safety Officials In Derbyshire County Council Gone A Step Too Far?

many who cross the River Dove in the Derbyshire Dales think they have, the stepping stones have been used for centuries by ramblers who have crossed the River Dove in the Derbyshire Dales, the stones have been featured on postcards and calendars as an enduring image of an area visited by over a million people each year, they have even become part of the natural landscape made famous in Izaak Walton's book The Complete Angler, (out of interest the Complete Angler is the most republished book in the English language apart from the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer), the steps are also seen in the Hollywood movie Robin Hood, as one local, Mark Taylor said: 'The special quality of the stepping stones is the stones themselves, generations of walkers had polished and shaped them, making them a testament to the enduring popularity of Dovedale, the stones in their original form are lost forever and everything that made them unique and wonderful has been totally obliterated,' yes the council has covered the stones with concrete and put a uniformly high cap on them, today walkers in the area were equally critical of the move, Phil Sargeant, 53, said: 'I couldn't believe it when I saw them, they just look completely wrong now, the river is only a few inches deep so even if you slipped off the old stones it was hardly a disaster - in fact it was part of the fun', - but this is health and safety - you are no longer allowed to have fun! what makes the decision even more ridiculous is that there is a footbridge nearby anyway so you don't have to use them if the river is in flood, or use the stones at all, but of course you can not make that decision, it has been done for you, so have the council made a good decision? your call, still it is a good job Derbyshire County Council does not look after Stonehenge, if you climbed it you might slip off - concrete it just in case!