More Countryside Opens Up!

The latest installments in the right to roam legislation were rolled out this May Bank Holiday, opening up swathes of the North East, North West and Wales to walkers under the provisions of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW).

The legislation is already in force in the 'lower North West', which includes much of the Peak District and further south as well, but the latest openings include a staggering 450,000 hectares of open country in Wales - 21 per-cent of the total land area of the principality - and large areas of the four major northern English national parks, the Lakes, Dales, North Yorks Moors and Northumberland.

In the Yorkshire Dales, for example, the act has increased access land by 54 per-cent with nearly 400 square mile of countryside opened up. The new areas are marked on the ground with distinctive signs showing a brown figure on two rounded hills. They're also shown on the latest range of OS 1:25,000 Explorer maps with an orange faded boundary delineating the boundaries of open access land.

"People do need to remember that the new right does not allow them to walk wherever they want," points out Jon Avison of the Dales National Park."The land covered includes certain areas of mountain, moor, heath, down and registered common land. Woodland and coast is not covered unless under a voluntary dedication scheme and some common sense restrictions apply at all times and in all cases."

Similarly Mark Eccles of the Lake District National Park told the Guardian newspaper that "The Act brings both rights and responsibilities. "I am very much against headlines that talk about 'the right to roam'. We now have the right to go for a walk in new country, but we ahve to behave in a certain way."

For detailed information, your best point of call is the Open Access web site, or by calling 0845 100 3298. The web site includes definitive access land maps with a search function plus details of any current restrictions. For information on access in Wales, see the Countryside Council for Wales access site.