TAKE ACTION
JOIN A LOCAL GROUP
Groups connect in different ways: book clubs, coalitions with other orgs, monthly walks, meet ups and exhibitions.
If you're ready to take action for land justice near you, get in touch with nadia@righttoroam.org.uk who can support you setting up a group in your local area.
Together we can reclaim our relationship to the land.
DONATE TO THE CAMPAIGN
£5 a month
£15 a month
£10 a month
£20 a month
Alternatively you could make a one off donation here: A one off donation
Or use our Paypal link HERE
The Right to Roam campaign exists because of the generous donations from supporters like you.
Since 2020 we have been telling the story of our exclusion from the land. We have trespassed the great estates of England, exposing the vast swathes of countryside still kept out of reach of the public. We have defended our existing rights on Dartmoor and beyond. Thanks to these efforts: access to our land and water is back on the agenda. And we have lobbied hard to make a true right to roam a real political possibility.
We are winning. And with your support, we can finish the job.
If you believe in the Right to Roam and want to support the work we’re doing, please consider becoming a regular supporter by donating monthly. The less time we spend fundraising the more time we have to get the real work done. We are not seeking to become a legacy organisation. We are not wasting money on pointless offices or running a bulky organisational machine. Everything we do, everything you give us, goes towards one goal.
The next two years will be crucial for this campaign. A new government is in power. There are sceptics to be won over. Local groups to empower. A new culture of the land to be seeded.
With your support, we can build it.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
You’ve all seen signs claiming ‘Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted’.
They’re a lie.
In the UK, ‘trespass’ is a civil offence, provided you don’t infringe certain conditions. You cannot face criminal prosecution simply for being on someone else’s land without permission (or away from a designated Right of Way, open access land or land where any bylaws permit public access). The dispute is solely between you and the landowner, and the police cannot get involved.
That landowner could theoretically take you to civil court. But they’d have to know who you are, and it would most likely be a waste of their time.
Likewise, any ‘damages’ would have to be proportionate to the damage you've caused, which if you follow our principles of trespass below, should be zero.
PRINCIPLES OF TRESPASS
Right to Roam follow some key principles when accessing land without permission. We do not condone actions which break these rules, as these will simply undermine our campaign.
Our opponents have the land and the money. We've got you.
The vast majority of the public supports introducing a right to roam, but to win it we need your help. Here are some ways you can support the campaign:
TAKE ACTION
WRITE TO YOUR MP
Lots of new MPs were elected to Parliament in the July 2024 General Election - we need them all to know how much you care about a greater right to roam.
Find your MP and their email address by looking them up here on the Parliament website.
Here’s a template email you can use to contact your MP - feel free to adapt it:
Dear [MP name],
I’m writing to you as your constituent. Congratulations on your recent election to parliament.
The Right to Roam is an issue I care about deeply. Access to the countryside is vital for public health and for reconnecting us to nature - yet in England, people only have a right to roam over 8% of the country.
In fact, access to nature is hugely unequal in this country – a fifth of English constituencies have no right to roam at all. You can see where this seat ranks in terms of access by viewing this spreadsheet.
Please call on the Government to bring in a right of responsible access to the English countryside – by writing to Ministers, tabling PQs on this issue or raising this issue in parliamentary debates.
For more information, please read this 2-page briefing from the Right to Roam campaign.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks and best wishes,
[YOUR NAME; INCLUDE YOUR ADDRESS / POSTCODE SO YOUR MP KNOWS YOU ARE A CONSTITUENT]
ACT AS IF YOU ARE ALREADY FREE
Nobody gave us the rights we have today. They were either fought for, or enshrined customary practices which persisted because people defended them. Rights come to exist when we believe in them, exercise them, defend them and fight for their statutory recognition. That's why a crucial element of our campaigning is empowering people to act as if they are already free. Click the button below for our guide on accessing land safely and respectfully.
CARRY OUT WILD SERVICE
When our ability to belong to the land was removed, we lost our ability to care for it too. Nature lost its guardians. And the consequences have been distrastrous. We believe that an essential part of campaigning for a right to roam is rebuilding a culture of care and connection with the natural world, and that just as we encourage you to act as if you're already free, we encourage you to act to protect nature too. We call this concept Wild Service. Learn more by clicking the button below.
FOLLOW THE SCOTTISH OUTDOOR ACCESS CODE
No need to reinvent the wheel. Scotland already has a comprehensive code indicating where access is appropriate and how to act responsibly on the land, which apply just as well to England and Wales.
Follow it!
You can find the SOAC at: www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot
General Guidelines:
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Take responsibility for your own actions
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Respect people’s privacy, domestic property and gardens
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Don’t walk where crops are growing (stick to field margins or use alternative routes)
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Avoid places that don’t feel like open countryside (e.g. have buildings or machinery)
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Respect livestock and other animals kept on the land such as ponies and horses (i.e. avoid closed paddocks). Remember that cattle - especially bulls or cows with calves - can be dangerous
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Care for nature (avoid fires, wildlife disturbance or damage to flora)
KEEP IT CIVIL
Since civil trespass (i.e. simply existing on land) is not a criminal offence it is especially important that it does not become associated with criminal activity. Damage nothing. Disrupt no lawful activity. Peacefully enjoy what you came to experience.
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 trash, learn to recognise and report introduced species that harm our environment, record and report wildlife and environmental crime, undertake citizen science.
Believe you belong. This is your world to protect, regardless of who owns it.
LEAVE YOUR DOG AT HOME
Even a well behaved doggo 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. It cannot be cured and the cattle are therefore euthanised. 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. Until these are clarified, please walk your dog only where such rights already exist.
BE POLITE
Regardless of how landowners behave towards you, we advocate always remaining calm and de-escalating wherever possible. Private property has become so wrapped up in people’s sense of self that any perceived infringement can feel like a personal attack, even if it’s just a peaceful countryside wander. It’s our job to defuse that feeling. Be mindful that farmers and land managers are people with stresses and anxieties of their own and may have had negative experiences with the public in the past.
Remember: you came to enjoy nature, not have an argument.
To keep in touch with the campaign you can join our mailing list by subscribing to this form, or follow us on our social media channels:
However, the legal situation changes if you do any the following when trespassing on land:
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Cause damage to property
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Disrupt lawful activity
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Conduct yourself in a threatening or abusive fashion
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Bring a vehicle, intending to reside & cause damage
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Enter land with special restrictions* (see below)
That would be classed as ‘criminal trespass’, which is a criminal offence, leaving you potentially subject to police enforcement.
*Important Note: there are certain sites with special trespass designations which do make your mere unauthorised presence a criminal offence. The penalty for violation can be serious. Mostly, these are common sense. Avoid military sites, essential infrastructure (e.g. railways, airports, nuclear facilities) and stay away from the sorts of places the King might be having a cup of tea (or the Prime Minister hosting an illegal party).
Check the GOV.UK website for ‘Sites under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005’ for a more complete list of places to avoid, in addition to the Access Code below.
WILD SERVICE
The contract between our society and the nature that cradles us is broken. In a landmark new publication, the campaign group Right to Roam lays out a vision for its repair: a new, grassroots ecology enacted when people are empowered to reconnect.
Wild Service is more than a book. It is a philosophy, a call to action, a meditation, a celebration and an invitation. The contributor lineup includes award-winning writers, diverse creatives, career naturalists and some of the most influential voices advocating for nature in Britain today.
In 12 chapter-length essays, they explore the big, intricately connected themes of reconnection, recommoning, stewardship, guardianship, kinship, reciprocity, community, culture, education, healing, homage, belonging and inheritance, drawing on personal experience, centuries of history, millennia of indigenous wisdom, cutting-edge science and a web of ecological and cultural connections.
Shorter entries explore the ‘architecture of belonging’ – the rope swing, bothy, den, cairn, and clootie tree, and celebrate people already engaged in active Wild Service – not because it is their job, but because they know this is their land to care for.
Use the links below to read more about Wild Service via the essay (originally published by Dark Mountain) and to buy the book: