PHOTOS: 'Hare' today, hopefully not gone tomorrow: Traveller Simon shares concern over right to roam
By Hannah Corfield
17th Sep 2021 | Local News
There is a certain nostalgia surrounding travellers, who adopt the traditional means of horse and cart. Not least, because they are so rare. And they could soon vanish all together if the Government succeed in their bid to make trespassing a criminal offence.
That is the worry for 52-year-old traveller Simon, who is currently parked on a grassy verge near Daisymount roundabout not far from Honiton.
Trespassing is currently treated as a civil matter, but proposed legislation would give police powers to criminalise unauthorised encampments.
Having lived life on the open road for 20 years, accompanied by Eddy the horse and Odin the dog, the change in the law would make him a criminal overnight.
"It would effectively outlaw my lifestyle, so the police could turn up and tell me to go within 24 hours and if I don't they could take my home and crush it," he told Honiton Nub News.
"It is a concern. Obviously, if it goes through Parliament, then that's my whole lifestyle out the window. I wouldn't be able to make a living."
Simon is well-known for his beautiful wood carvings, which he sells on the roadside wherever he goes.
"It earns my keep, but it's very seasonal. I spend the summer months chasing tourists before it pretty much goes dead over the winter."
Simon talked about the reception he gets from people he encounters.
"People seem to love seeing the set up with the gypsy caravan and horse grazing nearby. I guess it's somewhat romanticised nowadays. They will often stop and ask if I need anything, or drop off hay for Eddy."
Even as I sit there, a man pulls up and comes over to give Simon a tenner, purely out of respect for his lifestyle. He chats for a while before wishing him all the best and heading off. It certainly feels very pleasant, sitting in the dappled shade of an oak tree on a hot, sunny September day watching the rest of the world speed by.
"It's lovely in the summer, but it's not an easy way of life," Simon explains.
"It's twice as hard with a horse to look after."
In response to whether the coronavirus crisis had affected him, he said: "Not really. I'm quite detached from everything in a lot of respects, I live in my own little bubble."
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