I was quite amused by this article shared on a walking page on facebook.
https://www.cicerone.co.uk/a-question-of-stiles-rural-ingenuity-or-hazardous-obstacle
It totally reminded me of my walk along The Pilgrim’s Way back in 2018 and 2020…I cannot tell you how many, many stiles, of all shapes, sizes, state of decay or disrepair, and levels of navigable ability I encountered over the week of my final stages. At one point at the end of a very long day, near Detling, I literally sat down on the step of what was thankfully the last stile of the day for 30 minutes and just refused to climb it…my mind was bent!! I just couldn’t face having to hoik myself and my backpack, which by then felt like it weighed in at 5 tons, over the damn stile!! I seriously considered just parking myself in the surrounding field and staying there for the night….except…creepy crawlies and things that go bump in the night.
In the space of 25 minutes, early evening, after walking for 10 hours, I encountered 1 kissing gate and 4 stiles, two of which were no more than 2 minutes apart! I kid you not!! So not funny! LOL I had just 3 hours earlier squeezed myself through another kissing gate…most times, as the article suggests, you have to just take the backpack off, throw it over (or lower it carefully depending on how fed-up you are) and squeeze through.
and then, just to really make my day….I had to climb this flight of stairs straight after, only to discover that I would be walking right next to a very busy motorway. What I said on seeing these stairs…. I’ll leave to your imagination
Oh! and may I just say…I did this walk between lockdowns in 2020! At a time when we were allowed to travel, albeit not hugely encouraged…I hardly saw a soul most days, and only encountered my airbnb hosts in a controlled environment. Just saying….as they say. I got some seriously nasty flack from someone I don’t even know on facebook…which is why my profile is private…
Other than that…what has been your experience with stiles? I’m truly grateful that so far there are none on the Thames Path and I’ve encountered only kissing gates so far on The Saxon Shore Way. The English Coast Path is also mostly free of stiles…probably coz you can’t farm on the beach. Or can you?
Not Just a Granny 
Stiles … not really something I’ve encountered on my hikes. I can’t even recall climbed over one in recent years – maybe on a farm when I was small, but not on hikes. I can just imagine how hard it must be when you encounter so many of these after a long day on your feet … 👀
Oh it’s a total pain!! You should see some of them that I’ve encountered. You end up squeezing between a low growing tree and the top rung. Seriously…it’s insane, especially at the end of a long day. You’re too exhausted to take your backpack off and then have to lift it up again 🥺 Some days, especially on the Pilgrim’s Way, I literally just cried. 🤪🤪 Stiles seem to be a way of life in the UK, if you don’t have as many as you can possibly install, somehow you’ve failed as a landowner or farmer 🙄🙄 I know they make sense for a number of reasons, but at least they could make them easier to climb…but then I don’t believe that’s the plan!! Sigh. I used to love them, part of the countryside…that lasted about 5 minutes 😂😂
We see so many stiles, absolutely everywhere. And often they are close to falling down with splintered bits of woods and nails sticking out so you have to be careful. And especially awful if you have a dog.
Some of them are absolutely shocking, you wonder how you managed to get over without mishap. I can imagine trying to get your dog over would be tricky. Mind you, some of my most memorable experiences have involved stiles, and I remember those moments because of the stile….Still, I’m not a fan 😁😁