“Give people the right to walk around the edges of privately owned fields”, say the ace @slowwaysuk.bsky.social New polling shows 7 in 10 Brits agree This is what @righttoroam.bsky.social has proposed for English cropland & has long been the case in Scotland www.theguardian.com/environment/... - ThreadSky

guyshrubsole.bsky.social • 130 days ago

“Give people the right to walk around the edges of privately owned fields”, say the ace @slowwaysuk.bsky.social

New polling shows 7 in 10 Brits agree

This is what @righttoroam.bsky.social has proposed for English cropland & has long been the case in Scotland

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/26/call-for-right-to-roam-on-edges-of-private-farmland-england-walking

Comments

rouler.bsky.social•130 days ago

The 'Land' was stolen from the People.

Well past time it was taken back.

pensionerdave.bsky.social•129 days ago

William the Conqueror and his mates ( well their descendants) need to be dispossessed.

rhapsodyangel.bsky.social•130 days ago

There are landowners around the village where my parents live, who allow people to walk around the edge of their fields, however I know this isn't something that happens everywhere.

elimuann.bsky.social•130 days ago

I have always done this. Sadly, England is more densely populated and some people just don’t respect the farmland they wander across any old how taking no notice of their dogs off lead pooing and chasing around through crops. With rights come responsibilities.

guyshrubsole.bsky.social•130 days ago

That’s why Right to Roam has been calling for a right of responsible access, which is what exists in Scotland. As I tweeted about just this morning: https://bsky.app/profile/guyshrubsole.bsky.social/post/3le6b4mxjfk2c

odbof85.bsky.social•130 days ago

If farmers are worried about their crops they shouldn’t have voted for Theresa May

sarahdeere-jones.bsky.social•130 days ago

Honestly, it's not much to ask is it....🙄

georgeouthwaite.bsky.social•130 days ago

to be honest i've been doing this anyway the whole time, when we were children we'd just go wherever we liked, before we had the fear drilled into us

drpetrie48.bsky.social•130 days ago

It shouldn't be a problem based on the Scottish experience. But to be fair, I never encountered problems roaming in Scotland even before it was a right.
I suppose landowners might feel more comfortable where there's a reciprocal sanction available to them when "roamers" aren't keeping to the rules.

ginhaze.bsky.social•130 days ago

"But , but,.. only we know how to look after the land.." say land "owners" while presiding over decades of environmental catastrophe.

lucycorrander.bsky.social•130 days ago

I'm in England and hadn't realised we didn't already have this right. For all my life I've assumed it's perfectly acceptable to walk round the edges of fields.

msbluewednesday.bsky.social•130 days ago

You obvs don’t live anywhere near the South Downs where access is below the 7% at only 5%. But it’s fine for tweedy types shooting thousands of imported birds ..
Our “National Parks” are an utter misnomer imo.

lucycorrander.bsky.social•130 days ago

That's true. Have no experience of South Downs. More Dorset. Now live in West Yorkshire where Yorkshire Water has bits of land where we are not supposed to go. Making land inaccessible so people can kill birds is ridiculous but where crops are growing, farmers seem to feel they are under-respected.

msbluewednesday.bsky.social•130 days ago

Most farms on the Sth Downs are owned by big estates, I believe. Certainly they have a job lot of identical “no access” signs.

lucycorrander.bsky.social•130 days ago

That's a real shame. Have just looked at the South Downs on Google images and it looks a lovely area to walk in. Apart from disturbing birds waiting to be shot, do you know what landowners are worried people might do if they go there?

msbluewednesday.bsky.social•130 days ago

No. None at all. There have been the odd incident of lamping but that’s not done by walkers/hikers.

guyshrubsole.bsky.social•130 days ago

Acceptable but not a right, alas - meaning any landowner can tell you to get orf their land, even if you're doing the responsible thing to protect crops...

lucycorrander.bsky.social•130 days ago

I'm unclear what's a 'right' and what one simply does. E.g., never seen walking along a pavement as a 'right', I just do it. If council digs it up and makes a diversion, that's what happens. Have seen edges of fields similarly. If told not to walk there, might suddenly want it as a 'right'. Not sure

guyshrubsole.bsky.social•130 days ago

Customary access is fine until it's challenged. That's why Scotland created a right of responsible access in 2003 (and England has a right to roam, but a far less extensive one, only over 8% of the country - and not including field margins)

guyshrubsole.bsky.social•130 days ago

Plus many (most?) people will not be as confident as you at accessing the countryside - much of the public have had it drummed into us that we just can't go to these places

Creating a right of responsible access helps make people feel welcome

sophiejayhudson.bsky.social•130 days ago

Round these parts farmers put up barbed wire to prevent anyone from straying off a footpath. No edge walks allowed. Very sad.

lucycorrander.bsky.social•130 days ago

It is sad. I know nothing about this and wonder whether it's caused by a sense of possessiveness and mistrust of outsiders or whether real damage is caused by walkers from time to time.

sophiejayhudson.bsky.social•130 days ago

A bit of both, I think. However real damage is far less than perceived damage. A lot is done by illegal rubbish dumpers, illegal deer/hare coursing, and illegal motorbike riders. There's a trend but easier to blame genuine, nature loving walkers that just want to get from a to b.

lucycorrander.bsky.social•130 days ago

Fly tipping round here is absolutely appalling. If I were a farmer, I would be tearing my hair out. Guess motorbikes might be a problem from time to time too. Not sure what can be done about that but if councils didn't charge at official tips the temptation to dump rubbish in fields would disappear.

guyshrubsole.bsky.social•130 days ago

Of course, fly tipping isn’t done by walkers. I don’t know many ramblers who’d carry around a half-tonne of construction waste in their rucksacks.

runtoexploremore.bsky.social•130 days ago

No one asked this brit... make that 8!

slowwaysuk.bsky.social•130 days ago

Thanks Guy!

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