Countryside campaign group Right to Roam is encouraging members to embark on a ‘summer of trespass’ to unlock blocked or privately owned areas of the countryside.
The call to action urges members to make the most of the current sunny spell to ‘get outside, and get trespassing’. It also includes a seven-point guideoutlining how best to locate the site of the trespass, looking in particular at areas that have been ‘blocked’. It also suggests things for people to do while trespassing and to take photographs of themselves that can then be shared across social media channels.
The organisation’s is calling for an extension of the Countryside & Rights of Way (CRoW) Act to give greater access to privately owned sections of the countryside as well as woodlands, downland, Green Belt land and rivers for activities such as picnicking, wild swimming and wild camping.
CLAPresident, Mark Tufnell, said: “Campaigners are reminded that significant expansion of this already vast network of access land would also likely damage the natural habitats upon which our already declining biodiversity and wildlife depend.”
He added: “England and Wales possess some of the finest public access systems in Europe. We have over 140,000 miles of public footpaths and rights of way for members of the public to enjoy. We encourage people who wish to enjoy the Great British outdoors to observe the core principles of the Countryside Code: Respect, Protect, and Enjoy.”
The group is also advising followers to work out ‘how we can help ourselves and nature by being in it’ promoting activities such as water testing, foraging, picnicking or using ‘citizen science’ apps.
Right to Roam member Nick Hayes said that ‘all’ Right to Roam trespasses follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, as it is more ‘detailed and impactful than the ‘meagre English
Countryside Code’.
He said: “While giving people a clear remit to their responsibilities, it educates them not just to the working business of the countryside, but the seasonal fluctuations and specific topographical sensitivitiesof the ecology. In doing so, its strips the paint of our code, which is largely unread and untaught by anyone in England.”
