CALLING ALL ROAMERS — FROM RIGHT TO ROAM

Dear Roamers, The trees are drawing the water from their leaves and there’s a distinctive dry rustle in the breeze. It may not feel like it but autumn is coming. And this year it promises to bring one of the most important moments for the Right to Roam campaign since it was founded. For some time now we’ve been lobbying the government to create a so-called ‘White Paper’ on access reform. This is essentially an instruction to the civil service to outline options in preparation for new legislation. Introducing one would be in line with Labour’s manifesto commitment to extend responsible access to nature, as well as its previous promises. In power they have (so far) proved... less assertive. However, over the past few months we have been engaging with civil servants on preparatory work for a ‘Green Paper’, which is perhaps the next best thing. Once launched, this consultation will gather a broader range of ideas and input from stakeholders and the public in advance of a decision about how to take reform forward. That’s where you, our supporters, come in. We know there will be pushback against any attempt to increase the rights of ordinary people. Groups representing the landed interest have lobbied hard against us before and they will do so again. But the reality is that they don’t represent what the majority of the public want: neither in the city, nor in the countryside. It’s crucial that they aren’t allowed to muscle out the popular desire for reform. It will be up to all of us to provide another voice. We don’t yet know when the formal consultation will start. But we’re laying the groundwork now, and will be providing you with as many resources as we can to make your own submissions as straightforward as possible. This may be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redress the widespread exclusion from our land and water, so we need to be ready to make the most of it. Prize Draw On the subject of resources: there’s just a few days left to enter our Right to Roam prize draw! This gives you a chance to win one of our beautiful, nature-themed bundles in collaboration. All proceeds go to the campaign to help keep us running. More on how we’re funded here. Each bundle includes signed books from some of Britain’s finest nature writers, signed prints by campaign artist Nick Hayes, quality waxed sit mats, nature-themed pins and notebooks and… even some trespass-themed crockery. To take part in the draw follow the link here. If you’d prefer to support us over the long-term via regular donations you can also do so by heading over to: righttoroam.org.uk/donate Who Owns Your River? In case you missed it: last month Lewis published his investigation of the ownership of the River Dart, which was picked up by the Guardian here. It became one of their most read pieces and the interest prompted the newspaper to follow up with a supportive editorial on access to rivers here. For Right to Roam it was yet more evidence of the difficulty faced by attempts to create new access infrastructure - such as the government’s proposed new river walks - without first attending to the underlying rights. Full details of the Dart research can be found here. Upcoming Events Alongside the launch of the Green Paper we’ve got a busy few months ahead. The campaign will be speaking at various events (some details TBC) including: -Dartmoor Outdoors Festival, Princetown (August 30th) -Rave on For the Avon Screening, York (September 4th) -Wild Summit, Bristol (September 11th) -Liberal Democrat Conference Fringe, Bournemouth (September 20th) -Oxfordshire Women’s Institute (October 14th) -UK River Guardians Summit, West Berkshire (October 17 - 19) -Wild Service Festival, Farsley (October 18th) -Scottish Outdoor Access Conference, Perth (November 13th) -Kendal Mountain Festival (November 20th - 23rd) If you’re attending any of the above please do come and say hello! Jon, on behalf of the Right to Roam team -- For the latest campaign updates, follow us on Instagram & Bluesky To get involved with campaign action, check out our website here. Want to become a Right to Roam supporter? Head here.