The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW) gives the right to enter and remain on large areas newly mapped as open country and registered common land, amounting to some 1,286,000 hectares (3,215,000 acres) of mountain ,moor, heath, down and common land in England and Wales. The Ramblers Association has been campaigning nationally for the right to roam since 1935. Our local efforts by volunteers since the Act was passed have involved hundreds of submissions at the various stages of the mapping process and appearances at 70 hearings in front of Planning Inspectors. These efforts have had a significant influence in achieving a situation where we now have a total of 439 hectares of open country in the southern part of North Yorkshire in addition to the North York Moors and 1191 hectares in East Yorkshire, almost all of it consisting of downland in the form of the steep sided dry valleys typical of the Yorkshire Wolds. Identification details and grid references for all the areas of open country are given in the first table below this text.
We have had access to all of the mapped land since 31 October 2005. However, this right, which has been called “the right to roam”, only applies to those on foot. It must be exercised responsibly. This means respecting the countryside as a natural environment and a place where people live and earn their living. The Act is a landmark piece of legislation as it establishes new rights for the general public, which reverse some of the injustices of the Enclosure Acts of the 18th century.
A most important new aspect of these new rights is that people are free to wander anywhere on the mapped land. They no longer need to keep to a metre wide linear strip, as is the case with existing footpaths. However, there are limits to these rights. For example it is not true that visitors are entitled to walk in residents’ gardens!
Anybody wishing to enter these new areas should consult the Natural England (NE) website at www.openaccess.gov.uk, which will point you in the right direction for advice and information on the new access rights under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRW), and where you can also check on whether any restrictions have been placed on any particular piece of land you want to walk on. The OS explorer maps show the new areas.
If you have any queries about access matters you are welcome to contact Tom Halstead, Area Access Officer, but NE is the most authoritative source of information.