It is now well accepted that access to nature is a boon for human mental health, so much so that it can even be ´prescribed´ in England and Scotland, our conscious appreciation of the benefits of spending time outside was highlighted through the lockdown. But not everyone is able to access land, whether this is for rambling, forest bathing, or a picnic. And this is the given reason for England’s latest civil protest, mass trespass, to raise the right of freedom to roam, a right which for England and Wales at least only covers 8% of our green and pleasant land. The movement was started by two authors Nick Hayes author of The Book of Trespass and Guy Shrubsole author of Who Owns England?

The target for this latest protest was very appropriate, it was the land belonging to someone who really can do something about this, Richard Benyon – the minister for access to nature. As the minister in charge of access to nature, Benyon was involved in the Agnew review, which looked at broadening access to the countryside, but which was shelved with little explanation after the consultation. The lack of transparency in this decision isn’t making the government many friends, and given the inequality demonstrated in the ownership of England, it is easy to call foul play.

Scotland meanwhile passed a law in 2003 allowing freedom to roam stating that; “everyone has the right to be on land for recreational purposes and to cross land for such purposes.” The Act sets out rights and responsibilities and this law followed the creation of the Access Forum which was created in 1994 to debate and resolve access issues at a national level, Scottish Parliament was created in 1999, which removed the legislative obstacle of passing through Westminster’s House of Lords.

90 years ago, the mass trespass protest The Kinder Scout in the Peak District ended in fights between walkers and gamekeepers and some arrests but it is argued it also led to the passage of the National Parks legislation in 1949 and helped pave way for the establishment of the Pennine Way and other long-distance footpaths. The anniversary of this mass trespass is marked each year, and this year it was marked for the first time as the Kinder in Colour heralding greater inclusivity into the annual celebration.

George Monbiot started a ‘Land is Ours’ movement in the mid-’90’s which started along the same lines as the current movement, we planted a tree on Biggers Hill and walked at a leisurely pace through a grouse estate, and briefly occupied land in the centre of London. It seems the fight for the right to roam over the other 90% of England has a long way to go, so I hope this latest movement has a little more stamina.