FROM RIGHT TO ROAM — LETS WALK THE RIVERS

Can't see this message? View in browser   Give us a right to roam every river, not just nine river walks! Dear Roamers, And we’re off! Yesterday saw the launch of our 9 river trespasses - organised by our amazing Right to Roam Local Groups. On Sunday, our Norfolk local group trespassed the River Wensum, whilst South Devon Right to Roam led a trespass along the River Dart. Seven more river trespasses are planned across England this month - scroll down for more details, and some photos from yesterday's actions! Thirty of us in the South Devon group walked a private stretch of the Dart - including over an estate owned in the Cayman Islands - enjoying the sunshine, the bronze leaves of beech trees and the sight of a seal frolicking in the river. Later, we met a flotilla of kayakers from the Friends of the Dart who were paddling upstream to highlight river pollution. This is something Right to Roam cares about deeply, too: as we walked, our group picked up a large bagful of plastic litter washed up on the shore. To us, access to land is essential to being able to carry out acts of wild service. The reason our Local Groups are holding 9 river trespasses in November is to highlight the inadequacy and unworkability of the Government’s manifesto pledge to create 9 river walks. For centuries, the vast majority of rivers and river banks in England have been off limits to the public, with access jealously guarded by their landowners. Some 96% of waterways in England and Wales lack a clear right of navigation. There are some 1,500 rivers in the UK - so creating walks along just 9 of them really isn’t going to cut it. Nor is it remotely workable. Our analysis shows that the River Dart alone has 108 separate landowners - making it nigh-on impossible for Ministers to negotiate permissive access agreements with all of them. And as we found on our trespass on Sunday, large chunks of the riverbank are owned by mysterious companies in offshore jurisdictions - making it hard to even identify the ultimate owners, let alone get their consent for public access. We think it would be far easier for the Government to pass new legislation giving the public a default right of responsible access to all rivers, as well as to the wider countryside. The dire ecological state of our rivers has risen up the political agenda as a direct result of tireless advocacy of those who have come to love and care for them through experience. Kayakers, walkers, wild swimmers and anglers have all been at the forefront of sounding the alarm on behalf of our rivers. A promise to create just 9 new river walks won’t help the vast majority of people in this country access nature. And it won’t support the ecological recovery of our watercourses, leaving the majority of them out of sight, and out of mind. We don’t imagine a formal walk down every river: simply the ability to get to, and get into, our local rivers - to experience them up close, and form a connection with them. We believe a new law creating a default right of access to land and water would be a much better option - both logistically, and to give many more people the opportunity to care for their rivers. Our river trespasses have already been making waves in the media - check out some of the Press Association coverage here, and on BBC news here. Here’s the full list of 9 river trespasses that Right to Roam Local Groups are organising this month: River Dart, Devon - took place yesterday, Sun 2nd Nov (South Devon Right to Roam) River Wensum, Norfolk - took place yesterday, Sun 2nd Nov (Norfolk Right to Roam) River Bollin, Cheshire - Sunday 9th November (Right to Roam North West) - meeting at Hale train station at 2pm River Avon, nr Salisbury, Wiltshire - Sunday 16th November (Somerset & Wiltshire Right to Roam) River Aire, West Yorkshire - Saturday 29th November (West Yorkshire Right to Roam) River Camel, Cornwall - Saturday 29th November (Right to Roam Kernow) Right to Roam Leicestershire - location & date TBC Right to Roam North East - location & date TBC Right to Roam Sheffield - River Lathkill, date TBC If you’d like to get involved in one of these river trespasses - or if you’d like to join or set up a Right to Roam Local Group - please contact us via: hello@righttoroam.org.uk A line in the sand Property owners on the wealthy peninsular of Sandbanks, in Poole Harbour have erected a fence preventing public access to the beach. Many people believe the foreshore (the intertidal zone between low and high tide) is owned by the Crown Estate - but this is only partially true. In many cases the Crown has sold off the foreshore and as such there are many beaches which are in private hands. What remains is a situation of assumed permission, until one of those private owners decides to revoke access - such as has happened at Sandbanks where the ownership of the beach is variously held by private individuals including the Canford Estate (registered in the British Virgin Islands). One owner answered his Ring doorbell from Barbados. As we focus this month on the Government’s paltry river walk offering, the situation at Sandbanks demonstrates just what happens when you rely on such permissive agreements - they can disappear overnight, leaving communities cut off from places they have loved for generations. Best wishes, Guy, Lewis & the rest of the Right to Roam team x --- We’ve been campaigning for bold new access legislation for five years, and with the help of the generous support of a few hundred subscribers - each donating around £5-£10 a month - we’ve been mostly able to remain untethered to the demands of grant funding and fundraising. If you feel you could become one of our monthly supporters to keep us agile and focused, please head over to our website: www.righttoroam.org.uk/donate South Devon Right to Roam Norfolk Right to Roam 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. Take Action Visit our social accounts Check out our site   This email was sent from this site. If you no longer wish to receive this email, change your email preferences here.