Image description: A woman wild swimming in the Lake District. Image by Jaz Blakeston-Petch on Unsplash
A group of Labour MPs have said wild swimming and wild camping should be a right for all people to enjoy in the English countryside.
In a report from the all-party parliamentary group for outdoor recreation and access to nature, MPs are calling for access to nature to be increased and legal rights to enjoy the countryside.
Lack of access to nature in England
The group is led by the Labour MPs Andy MacNae, Phil Brickell and Polly Billington and has been set up to explore how to improve people’s connections with nature and enjoyment of England’s rivers, woodlands and fields. Their report, which took in the views of more than 750 organisations and individuals, concludes there is not enough access to nature in England.
Based on current laws, there is only a right to roam over just 8% of England, which includes mountains, moorland, the coastal path and common land. There has been a marked increase in public campaigns involving mass trespasses, which have sometimes attracted thousands of people, calling for a general right to walk across the English countryside, as there is in Scotland.
The report advises expanding access rights
The reported advises access should be expanded to include inland waters such as lakes and riversides, as well as woodlands, and in the places where walking is allowed, a broader range of activities should be permitted. This covers wild camping, paddling, swimming, cycling and horse riding.
The report also calls for access rights for swimming and non-motorised craft on inland waters through new legislation or amendments to existing acts, such as the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, an access to nature bill or the upcoming water reform bill, and a requirement for all children and young people to experience at least one residential outdoor experience, linked to curriculum outcomes at key stage 2.
Labours position on right to roam
The Guardian notes that in opposition Labour was committed to a Scottish-style right to roam. However, they report that after lobbying from landowner groups the party U-turned and instead announced it would create hundreds of miles of new river pathways. Riverbanks are often on private land, and people seeking to canoe or swim sometimes face threats or abuse from landowners. River walks are often fragmented for the same reason, and only 3.4% of English rivers have an uncontested public right of navigation.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “Our countryside and green spaces are a source of great national pride, but too many across the country are left without access to the great outdoors. This government is increasing access to nature for families to enjoy creating nine new national river walks and planting three new national forests including a 2,500-hectare forest stretching from the Cotswolds to the Mendips western forest”
As it stands, wild camping is only recognised as a legal right on Dartmoor, which recently was subject to a drawn-out legal battle when a landowner unsuccessfully tried to overturn it.