We absolutely want to address this issue; we love dogs, but a right to roam would not automatically extend to them. We recommend reading our detailed policy proposals addressing the challenges of England’s rising dog population. drive.google.com/file/d/1uJ8I...
For more on the architecture of belonging, see WILD SERVICE: Why Nature Needs You.
A publication from the Right to Roam campaign. m.cmpgn.page/kqCFTs
Following the Police, Crime and Sentencing Act words like ‘intent to reside’ have become criminalised.
Wild camping remains unlawful across nearly all of Wales and England.
The most normal of things have been rebranded as sins.
Because a den is a counter-claim to ownership; an incitement to belong.
Every creature needs sanctuary. And den-making brings us into affinity with our most creaturely instincts.
Which is exactly what the law of the land cannot abide.
Building a den is the most natural thing in the world.
Yet today it has become guerilla architecture; a spooky reminder that evolutionary instinct and modern property law rarely make good den-fellows.
Landowners admonish. Councils tear them down. In some bizarre cases, police are called.
A den is a childish statement of belonging, but let’s not mistake childish for trivial. Den making is the instinctive behaviour of homemaking: collecting materials from the world around, as you work out what can be borrowed, salvaged and adapted into shelter. Nearly everyone has built a den.
OUR LAND
A film about the Right to Roam campaign.
Preview screenings from March - April.
Cinemas nationwide from May.
Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=est-...
Screenings: www.metfilmstudio.com/distribution...
There will be preview screenings in cinemas across the country from early March to early May, followed by a national release. With the help of our local group network, we’ll be attending as many screenings as possible for post-film Q&As. Tickets here: www.metfilmstudio.com/distribution...
This spring sees the release of a documentary about the fight to defend and extend access to nature in England and Wales. OUR LAND, directed by Orban Wallace and shot by Gallivant Film, follows the Right to Roam campaign as we trespass estates and challenge removal of rights on Dartmoor and beyond.
We are delighted to be part of this exhibition at
@themerl.bsky.social, with the fight for Dartmoor's right to Wild Camp and the resurection of Old Crockern. On 14th February - 24th of May, not one to miss!
We're also marking the launch of Radical Rural, a gallery trail championing many more voices who champion and care for rural England today. From summoning the folk spirits of England's woods and tors, to meticulously mapping the data of who really owns England.
merl.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/rad...
This May sees the release of Our Land - a feature length documentary film about the Right to Roam campaign, directed by Orban Wallace.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=est-...
Exciting news: this May sees the national release of OUR LAND.
A beautiful documentary feature film about the @righttoroam.bsky.social campaign, directed by Orban Wallace.
Trailer here 👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=est-...
For more on the architecture of belonging, see WILD SERVICE: Why Nature Needs You.
A publication from the Right to Roam campaign. m.cmpgn.page/kqCFTs
The rope swing is our most common example of the commons.
A raucous, everyday insult to the claims that belonging equates to ownership.
A ‘common lore’ superseding the fiction of ‘property law’.
Once a rope swing becomes established it becomes a local theatre of experience. A place where relationships play out, where memories are forged.
It is the hearth of an invisible, numberless community.
A fence signals artificial and exclusive ownership declared from without – “this is mine!”.
A rope swing signals organic and collective belonging declared from within – “this is everyone’s!”
Fences demarcate space. Rope swings create place.
You may never know its creator, but you will know it as an invitation: come over here, enjoy, play, stay a while.
Rope swings are inevitable: if nature and climate have conspired together to create a tree whose bows offer the perfect height for a swing, in a location looking over a river or steep slope, at some point in time one will appear.
Good web conference on recreational disturbance issues in the outdoors today. Lots of common ground, still some philosophical gulfs to bridge.
A few takeaways.
-the reason many of our protected SSSIs exist is *because* the land was originally protected for access. That's why the two often overlap.
For more on the architecture of belonging, see WILD SERVICE: Why Nature Needs You. A publication from the Right to Roam campaign. m.cmpgn.page/kqCFTs
Whether or not you believe in the clootie’s healing power, these rituals help us make sense of sorrow.
By tending the spring and its guarding trees, we weave nature into our story.
Drawing strength from past pain, to be witnessed and held by unknown ancestors in a place of hope and fortune.
Clootie trees mirror modernity: old customs struggling to make sense in a modern world.
Should we abandon them and consign clootie trees to history?
We don’t think so. We celebrate the Friends of the Clootie Well, who care for the trees sensitively and bring their stories back to life.
Today these trees are controversial, and their numbers dwindling.
Cloth made from modern materials is less likely to be biodegradable, leading some to see the clooties as an eyesore.
And if the cloth can’t disintegrate, can the loved one ever be healed?
Wherever there’s a sacred spring, there’s a good chance a clootie tree existed next to it.
For centuries people have visited healing waters and tied a rag (‘clootie’) belonging to a sick loved one to the branches of a nearby tree.
When the rag disintegrates, it’s hoped the loved one will be healed.
Act as if you’re already free Nobody gave us the rights we have today. They were fought for, or emerged from customary practices which survived because people defended them. Rights come into being when we believe in them, exercise them, and fight for their recognition in law. Acting as if you’re free means moving through the world with the understanding that land exists to be shared, not locked away. By accessing and caring for the land as if we belong there, trespass becomes a way of enacting the world we want to live in, and making visible the boundaries that stand in its way.
Act as if you’re already free - Nobody gave us the rights we have today. They were fought for, or emerged from customary practices which survived because people defended them. Rights come into being when we believe in them, exercise them, and fight for their recognition in law.
Managing confrontation If law isn’t a barrier, fear of confrontation can still be off-putting. In reality, hostile encounters are rare. But if they do happen, here are some tips: – Set the tone. Initiate the interaction by waving and saying hello. If you’ve been litter-picking: show them! – Prepare a story. Explain honestly what’s motivating you to be there, and what it means to you. Emphasise local connection (if relevant). – Accommodate concerns. They weren’t planning on you being there, so work around genuine concerns. – Seek common ground. Show you love the land – they probably do too! Highlight plants, birds, or any positive management.
Managing confrontation - Say hello, explain why you’re there, accommodate real concerns, and find common ground in care for the land.
Be polite No matter how landowners may respond, we encourage you to stay calm and seek de-escalation. Private property can be closely tied to people’s sense of identity, so even a quiet walk through “their” countryside can feel like a personal attack. Our role is to defuse that feeling. Remember that farmers and land managers face their own pressures and concerns, and some may react based on negative past encounters with the public.
Be polite - Stay calm and de-escalate. Remember that farmers and land managers face their own pressures and concerns, and some may react based on negative past encounters with the public.
Leave your dog at home Even a well behaved dog can cause issues with wildlife or livestock disturbance and make confrontation situations more stressful. Dog faeces can cause something called neosporosis in cattle causing infected cows to abort their babies. Flea treatments, especially spot-on varieties, can be highly toxic for aquatic ecology. We believe a future Right to Roam Act should go alongside new regulations and educational measures for dog owners, so until this is in place, please walk your dog only where rights already exist to do so.
Leave your dog at home - Dogs can disturb wildlife and livestock and cause real ecological harm. We believe a future Right to Roam Act should go alongside new regulations and educational measures for dog owners, so until this is in place, please walk your dog only where rights already exist to do so
Leave a positive trace You’ve probably heard of the idea of ‘leave no trace’. But why not go one better? We are all guardians of nature, so let’s act like it: pick up rubbish, learn to recognise and report introduced species that harm our environment, record and report wildlife and environmental crime, undertake citizen science. Sometimes exclusions are legitimate: if you think the ‘keep out’ sign might be justified – respect it. Especially if there’s a genuine conservation need. Believe you belong. Take responsibility. This is your world to protect, regardless of who owns it.
Leave a positive trace - Go beyond “leave no trace”. Care for the land, pick up litter, respect genuine conservation exclusions, and report environmental harm.
