Dear Roamers,
Last week we wrote to you fresh from the streets of London and the tors of Dartmoor as the right to wild camp got its third hearing in court. We’re still awaiting the judgement. In the meantime, read on for a way to get out under the stars and get involved with the campaign in the coming weeks.
A dance of rights and responsibilities
We don’t claim that public access to the countryside comes without concern, caveat or care. Conversely, central to our arguments for a better access model is that the present system is not working for people or for nature. The dance between rights and responsibilities runs both ways: public rights of access require us to be responsible for our actions and to look after ourselves, each other and the land upon which we venture; rights of landownership in return should have attached the responsibility to enable access to land upon which our wider rights are extended.
This dance is central to the premise of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and the Swedish principles of Allemansratten. The pairing of responsibility with rights is a nod to the longer-term cultural undertones of access reform - it illuminates the need for us to learn experientially, and for experience to inform our actions. It also places the onus on wider society, government and public bodies to know where access rights should not be extended - to put in place sensible exceptions which are legible and legitimate. Making the case to access users for the need for such exceptions within broader access rights is much more straightforward if everything else also makes sense.
Yet our present situation not only locks the public out of most of the countryside, it also enables denial of access based on unevidenced claims. A good example of this emerged earlier this month when the mismanagement of the commons of Dartmoor was blamed on the public. Such gaslighting underpins centuries-old dogma regarding property rights and landed power, and purposefully undermines any attempt to build a culture where rights work hand-in-hand with responsibilities.
Our response was to evidence that the claim is baseless, and to posit that, in fact, the opposite is at play - nature is in freefall partly because of a lack of opportunities for people to get into the countryside. What could be a better way of countering this disconnect than by giving the public easily understandable rights of access to land and water with sensible well-justified exceptions, on Dartmoor and beyond: to embrace the dance between rights and responsibilities which we see in Scotland and Scandinavia.
As our very own Guy Shrubsole asks in his most recent book ‘The Lie of the Land’ - who really cares for the countryside? Perhaps, given half a chance, and backed up by an access model which provides legitimacy and clarity, we all can.
Starry Starry Fortnight
While the right to experience the night sky on Dartmoor has taken up a lot of column inches of late, we’re campaigning to extend this right well beyond this corner of England as part of inclusive access reform. The stars should be for everyone.
That’s why between the 25th October and the 11th November, we’re inviting you to get out - where you live - and rejoice in the beauty of the night sky. We’re not suggesting that you go far, and you certainly don’t have to camp - whatever is on offer to you: a local park, a garden, the edge of your town where the streetlights begin to grow dim… find your spot, and look up. Go with your friends, your family, or by yourself.
However - wherever - you choose, take a moment to think about what it would be like if the right to enjoy the night sky could be more freely available; what would it be like if in England we enjoyed a presumption in favour of access, including the ability to lay out under the milky way?
As the nights get darker it’s the perfect time to enjoy the stars, particularly the first weekend in November coinciding with the new moon.
Our friends at Go Stargazing have some great resources for you to make use of including the best times to stargaze, where to go, how to see the Milky Way, and a dark sky calendar.
Depending on whether you’re planning a night walk, a picnic or a camping trip to celebrate Starry Starry Fortnight, don’t forget to go prepared in order to be comfortable and to get the most out of it.
Once you’ve been out, use your experiences to raise your voice for access reform. Tell us about it on social media (links below), write to us, or write to your MP. Above all, enjoy a connection to the natural world which is ancient and mesmerising; the night sky should be our commons, yet our ability to see and connect with the stars is increasingly at risk.
How can we work together better for the sake of our trails?
Our friends at Trash Free Trails invite you to their upcoming Trails Gathering on December 5-6th in London. The gathering will bring together campaigners, conservationists and storytellers with brands and businesses from across conservation and the outdoors to explore more nature-led forms of collaboration.
The gathering will see attendees participate in lively and inspiring workshops that draw inspiration from ecological systems, to empower new ways of working which centre the future wellbeing of our trails and their communities. Find out more and book here.
Local groups challenging micro-enclosure
Right to Roam Wiltshire and Somerset set off to meet the 600 year old 'Magic Oak' in Bruton, fenced off from the public in 2021 by new landowners severing its connection to the people that grew up climbing it or sat under its ancient boughs. Speaking of the impact of this they said: "All the byways and footpaths are now enclosed with fencing, in a prime example of micro-enclosure - funnelling the public through the land with little chance of meaningful interaction with nature". They identified Beefsteak Fungus and Oak Click Beetles, and listened to poetry dedicated to the Oak.
Kernow Right to Roam, meanwhile, decided to pay a visit to Roche Rock on Saturday, after it became the site of a micro-enclosure at the hands of Lord Falmouth back in May. A padlock, metal sheet and chains were wrapped around a ladder which provides access to the 20 metre outcrop up to the ruins of a mediaeval chapel, a place dripping with history, myth and folklore.
Today, Kernow Right to Roam are reasserting their right of access to the Roche: “it belongs to the people of Kernow in a way that transcends property law, through feeling the beating heart of our ancestral belonging through each granite outcrop and wild space”.
Donate to the campaign:
As a campaign we rely on our supporters to keep us afloat. We’re a nimble, small team. We make good use of the resources we have but to keep the campaign going as we push for the access legislation we all deserve, we need your support.
We’d rather be funded by hundreds of supporters donating a few quid a month, than by a corporate sponsor signing a fat contract. Please consider becoming a regular supporter as we work for access reform in England.
Lewis,
On behalf of the Right to Roam team
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To follow us on social media:
Twitter: @Right_2Roam
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Facebook: right2roam
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