Campaigners call for right to roam on edges of private farmland in England
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Group says people in rural areas have to walk on roads without pavement, which can be very dangerous. Give people the right to walk around the edges of privately owned fields, say campaigners seeking to open up more paths in the British countryside. Slow Ways, a group advocating for more access to the countryside, said people in rural areas often have to walk on roads that do not have pavements, which can be extremely dangerous.
The British public appears to agree. A poll by YouGov found seven out of 10 adults (71%) thought people should be allowed to walk along the edge of fields that were privately owned, as long as they were respectful and responsible, and if the only other option was to walk down a narrow or busy road with no pavement or legal footpath.
Two-fifths of respondents said they were likely to walk more if such a walking network existed. In England, only 8% of the countryside is designated as open access for walking, picnicking and other outdoor activities. This includes mountains, moors, heaths and downs. In Scotland, all of the countryside is open for access as long as guidelines are followed such as leaving no trace and not harming farmland. There has been a recent groundswell of public campaigns involving mass trespasses, which have sometimes attracted thousands of people, asking for a general right to walk across the English countryside.
