Right to roam: 'I'm looking forward to following the lie of the land without barriers'
Catherine MacKay, 53, is chair of the Ramblers' Association. She lives in Sheffield
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Your support makes all the difference.Any person is entitled ... to enter and remain on any access land for the purposes of open-air recreation." It's such a joy to see those words enshrined in statute. This is the climax of a campaign that has been going on for 116 years, since 1884 when the first bill for freedom to roam was introduced. Ramblers have been fighting for this for 65 years and it was one of the reasons for the formation of the Ramblers' Association 65 years ago.
Any person is entitled ... to enter and remain on any access land for the purposes of open-air recreation." It's such a joy to see those words enshrined in statute. This is the climax of a campaign that has been going on for 116 years, since 1884 when the first bill for freedom to roam was introduced. Ramblers have been fighting for this for 65 years and it was one of the reasons for the formation of the Ramblers' Association 65 years ago.
What we hadn't achieved until now was the presumption that any area of open land is available to the public unless there's a good reason for it not to be. Before this year, it was the other way around. The Countryside and Rights of Way Bill had a tough ride in the Commons in March but emerged relatively unscathed. It was held up in the Lords because they had a very tight timetable and there was speculation that it might be dropped altogether. We held an event as part of our Forbidden Britain campaign on 17 September - this year's Ramblers' Access Day - and we also held a fringe meeting at the Labour conference in September. There was a huge battle over the Bill in the Lords, but it finally came through just in time, the day before the end of the parliamentary session, 30 November.
It's going to be several years before the public can enjoy rambling in open country, over the mountains, moors, heath, down and registered common land covered by the Bill because the land has to be mapped, and the ramblers will be heavily involved in that work.
For me walking is more than just physical exercise. It's not far-fetched to call it a spiritual experience. What I'm looking forward to is following the lie of the land without meeting barriers.
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