What is the right to roam - explained

They want the right to roam to be enshrined in English law - and today activists gathered to mark 20 years since the Land Reform Act.

It allowed people in Scotland to wander almost everywhere in the countryside and our chief correspondent Alex Thomson has been out with campaigners who want access to all areas south of the border too.

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[noonecaresaboutgoogle]

Right to roam would really upset the landed gentry so I fully support it.

[saorgaza]

I own some land here in Ireland, but would love everyone to have the right to roam as much as possible. Accessing the countryside on foot helps increase knowledge of the natural world and hopefully love of and respect for nature too. A couple of generations ago here with far fewer cars, people in rural areas walked alot and there were many established shortcuts taken across fields taken avoiding longer, twisty road routes. These have now been largely forgotten in younger generations but I feel the countryside should be open to all - largely in line with the Flying volvo comments re Nordic countries in the comment below

[cindyengel]

94% of Britain is off limits. No wonder we feel claustrophobic!

[FlyingVolvo]

Right to roam is a ancient right in Nordic countries, and the right to roam importantly comes with responsibilities including leaving the land untouched or in a better state then it was when you entered, not disturbing people and their homes, nor damaging any property including crops, and the right to roam only applies for walking or cycling, not automobiles or caravans nor any other form of transportation that can disturb the environment and wildlife.

The only people who I can imagine being against it would be those with an financial interest in opposing anything that can even remotely be perceived as infringing on private property rights. And if you look who has and continued to own massive amount of land through history you'll find it to be a tiny minority who overwhelmingly doesn't have any plans to develop it, utilize it, or have it be designated as protected wildlife land(since that would again, even remotely be perceived as having any negative impact on "their" land).

[Canigetanawwwwyyyyeeeah]

Scotland🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿that’s what it is…that’s the right to roam…go anywhere as long as you look after the land and respect it, anytime

[loopwithers]

Jonathan Roberts, covered in tractor gearbox oil, fingers cut from baling twine, eyes bloodshot from long hours, explains how he struggles to feed England

[davidnavratil]

1:45 the guy thinks the right to roam means people will be walking across wheat fields damaging the crops or walking through mud pastures stepping on cows dunk and occasionally being chased by mad cows during the calf season. I live in Scotland and I can tell you it's not about damaging farmers fields, property or scaring or stressing out the cows. It's about using the paths, roads and walkways which are already there and vast majority of the times these do not come in direct contact with free roaming livestock and certainly do not lead you to step of crops or newly planted trees. He just says what he has to because he's expected to due to his employment.

[jebbo-cl]

right to roam works well in Scotland and Scandinavia. Why should rich minority of landowners be able to gatekeep the public from the countryside

[wayway]

I live in a state in the USA where 93% of the land is privately owned. I would love to have more opportunities to fish local waterways that are too deep to tread but can't be accessed thanks to private land hoarders.

[Polite_Indifference]

With Britain's poor job quality, house prices and rental rates, we'll soon need the right to camp too.

[gaz]

Right to roam exists in Scotland and it works just fine. Far too many cap doffers down here in England. So long as you’re not intruding or disrupting crops/cattle what’s the harm?

[Jonpoo]

The trespass point is important. We essentially do have the right to roam in the UK but as with pretty much everything else here it’s just stayed in a way that favours the interests of those with land/capital. You can go wherever you like and all the landowner can due is take you to court for any damage caused.
We have internalised the idea of land being privately owned but there is nothing natural about it. We should have the right to roam and should be permitted reasonable access on most land.

[SimpleGuitarTabsYoutube]

Why is the majority of England poorly utilized farm land.. Half the roads can't fit a car down and the population is living in shoeboxes that you could hear your neighbour whispering through the walls. I've seen fields bigger than the size of a small town with just a couple horses in it.. year on year, nothing changes.

[brisvegas]

Hello from Australia, you are welcome to come here and walk as much as you want.

[jannevellamo]

We have the right to roam in Finland, it doesn't hurt anybody, the landowners aren't losing anything on account of it, everybody loves it.

[squirrel]

I remember wanting to fish salmon in scotland and found out that every single part of the river was owned by certain lords and a royalty had to be paid...

[MoonThuli]

We're a small and densely populated country so we shouldn't let private landowners limit where we can walk even more. The vast majority of people are responsible so it's a non issue

[Billmaster]

With appropriate boundaries and duty of care to the environment, im sure this can be accommodated.

[Itsalaugh]

Right roam or right to trample and fly tip.

[bionic]

No chance. That only happens in civilised countries. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿