Dear Roamers,
The snow here has melted and a new year has sprung. As the vapour steams off the nearby hills, I’m reminded just how mystical our landscapes can be.
It’s a feeling I also associate with the thousands of ancient sites which scatter these islands. Settlements, standing stones, wells and barrows all trace the ways in which our ancestors sought to make sense of their place here; how they related to one another, to the land, and to nature. Places where the veil between past and present is thinnest, and history is close at hand.
Yet we recently discovered that 28% of England's historic monuments have no legal right of public access.
Together with our friends at Stone Club, we (okay, Lewis) have mapped over 5,000 such sites. You can read the BBC story covering our investigation here and listen to our podcast with Stone Club here.
So in 2025 we are inviting you to reconnect with the present past in your own area. You can find your nearest inaccessible monuments in England & Wales using this map (shout-out to Data Scientist Fiona Spooner for the user-friendly version!). Or access the Google map with specific site outlines here.
Before you set off, do take a look at the field notes on the Megalithic Portal / The Modern Antiquarian and follow our Principles of Trespass as you go. We’d love to hear what you find.
Do note that some monuments may already have permissive agreements in place (it’s impossible to know without ground truthing every site). Though, like all permissive schemes, these are vulnerable to change and are unrecorded on most maps. Similarly, while we have mapped the scheduled monuments, there are many thousands more unscheduled examples scattered across the countryside. Indeed, much of our archaeological heritage is only known because of ordinary people documenting what they uncover…
Which brings us to the bizarre comments made by Lady Victoria Vyvyan, President of the Country Land and Business Association (which represents major landowners in England and Wales). She told the BBC that opening up such sites to the public would risk “losing them forever”, as though our existing accessible heritage has somehow vanished into thin air. Adding that they would come under threat from… “motorbikes and metal detectors”. Back off, Mackenzie Crook!
The reality, as Lady Vyvyan well knows, is that thousands of archaeological sites have been lost to the actions of the landowners. With many ploughed over, or subject to straightforward acts of landowner vandalism instead. By contrast, as Matthew Shaw from the Stone Club reminds us, a wide subculture of groups and individuals has arisen to tend the stones, relics and sites in our landscape; in many cases forging relationships with owners of the sites to ensure their ongoing care. As so often with the access debate, those with power point the finger at ordinary people when they should concern themselves with the mirror instead.
NEW WEBSITE
We’re excited to announce that we now have a brand new website! A huge shout out to Dominic Brown from GRAVY in Brighton for his efforts designing the site. If you like what you see he’s open to commissions and offers generous discounts for worthy causes.
The new site is packed with all kinds of useful information, from policy briefings to trespass guides and all the different ways to get involved.
Check it out at www.righttoroam.org.uk
LOCAL GROUPS
-Right to Roam Kernow recently ran their very own festival!
-A big welcome to our newest group, Right to Roam Leeds and Bradford, who are getting together for their inaugural walk on the 18th January. They'll be meeting at 10.30am at Darwin Gardens Cark Park (Ilkley, LS29 9RF). If you’re nearby, why not join them?
-Right to Roam Bristol are having their regular meeting at Cafe Kino, on 15th January at 6pm
-Right to Roam Wiltshire & Somerset have rescheduled their planned trespass walk to next Sunday, January 12th, due to the recent weather.
To get involved with our growing network of local groups, drop Nadia a line at: nadia@righttoroam.org.uk
RIGHTS OF WAY DEADLINE WITHDRAWN
While progress on wider access reform has so far been lacking from the new government, we did hear some positive news over Christmas: the 2031 deadline to register missing Rights of Way has been withdrawn. The Ramblers estimate as much as 41,000 miles of unrecorded paths were at threat. More from them here.
Meanwhile, Slow Ways have been highlighting the advantages that access to field edges might bring both for public safety and local rural connectivity. They’ve revealed Department for Transport statistics showing that two pedestrians are killed every week on country lanes, with 34 seriously injured. All due to a lack of safe, off-road access. More here.
We'll be back in touch soon with a recap of 2024 and our thoughts on the coming year.
Cheers,
Jon & Lewis,
On behalf of the Right to Roam team
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