Right to Roam are organising at least two mass trespasses this year, in the north and the south of England. The aim is to encourage people to go trespassing and also to reframe the conversation about public access: the English public are not a threat to the countryside.
Over the next 2 years, as part of their ongoing campaign to open up England to public access, Right to Roam are organising a series of mass trespasses. Led by ecologists and artists, they will trespass forbidden woodland, rivers and green belt land. And they are welcoming you to join them!
Right to Roam are a collection of amateurs and enthusiasts, people who like to cycle, swim, paddle and camp in the countryside, people who love our birdlife, insect life, flora and fauna, and people who want a deeper connection with nature.
The first action is to advise XR on their forthcoming action on the 24th April. Follow this link to download materials for this trespass, including new signage for the countryside, and a letter we'd like you to place on the land, to its owners.
To mark the 89th anniversary of the Kinder Trespass, XR are asking people to go on a trespass walk, swim or paddle on a local area out of bounds to public access. We have written a letter we would like you to deliver to the land, highlighting the absolute necessity for greater access to nature, not just for our public health, but for the health of the environment. Whilst the Kinder Trespass contributed to the current CRoW act, which allows us access to 8% of English land, we want to highlight how much of this open access land is inaccessible to the vast majority of the public - that for a registrable effect on our nation's health, we must be allowed to access nature on a regular basis, to the open spaces close to our homes - in other words, we need to bring CRoW to our doorsteps.
So XR are asking you to go for a walk, a swim or a paddle in a local area. You might want to target an area that has recently been fenced off, a blocked right of way, new building developments that threaten forested or arable land, or swim in a river that for as long as you've known it has been reserved for the exclusive use of fishing clubs. Wherever you chose, we ask that you follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and read our Trespasser's guide for a quick insight on what to do if challenged. If climbing the wall or hopping the fence seems a bit too confrontational, then use a right of way. The priority for this action is to cover over the 'Keep Out' signs with our new 'Everybody Welcome' signs, and to deliver our letter to the land.
What to do:
We need to start the conversation about access, and this action is a big step forward.
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