LAND at Metcombe Valley on Exmoor could be out of bounds to walkers for more than half the year in a bid to prevent disturbance to game birds. The Exmoor National Park Authority is consulting on its proposal to exclude public access from 27 hectares of the Lillycombe Estate in the Weirwater Valley from July 15 to February 1 until 2010. The authority has already approved a similar ban from the end of August this year to February next year on the grounds of land management and public safety. Members of the Exmoor Local Access Forum, one of the consultees, will be told at their meeting next Wednesday that the Metcombe Valley is highly regarded by those involved in the sport of game shooting. But the area where the birds spend most of their time and where any disturbance needs to be avoided is crossed by three existing tracks, which provide a convenient route highly likely to be used by visitors exercising their new rights under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. The national park believes it is necessary to restrict public access during the pre-season, when the young partridge and pheasant are released in mid- July, through the estimated 60 days of shooting and on non-shooting days throughout the season to avoid any disturbance that might cause the displacement of the birds. The results of research commissioned by the Countryside Agency to measure actual disturbance of pheasant and partridge by public access are currently awaited.