Near Dunton Green, Kent – 6/10

It is a reoccurring tragedy that so many half-decent stiles are let down by poor steps, and here we have yet another example. We all know that landowners very begrudgingly let the general public exercise their rights over their land (hence there being some extremely poor stiles out there or bovine livestock blocking footpaths), but in some ways it actually feels worse when just an extra plank of wood would greatly enhance the stile – it would perhaps be too much of a conspiracy to accuse them of knowing this!

The structure of this stile may not admittedly be particularly aesthetically pleasing, but is solid and sturdy, with the wire fencing very neatly covered by the various wooden beams. Then there is that step…

Minimal if you are being diplomatic, pathetic if you are being honest – it is simply too small and too singular, and so making negotiation unnecessarily challenging. All is required to greatly enhance the whole thing is a second step at the opposite diagonal angle halfway between the first step and the top beam and you have a greatly enhanced stile – but it is almost like those egregious landowners know this!