History of open access

People have been campaigning for more open access in the countryside for over 100 years. The campaign began in 1884 with the first freedom to roam bill, introduced to parliament by James Bryce MP. The bill failed but the campaign continued, culminating in the 1932 mass trespasses on Kinder Scout in the Peak District. The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 gave an opportunity for landowners to sign up to voluntary agreements to allow access to parts of England and Wales.

In 1997, the new Government promised to introduce a 'right' that would allow people the freedom to wander on foot on mountain, moor, heath and down.  The CRoW Act became law in 2000 and in order to implement the legislation 'mapping' of open country began a year later.

The first Open Access areas in England were opened to the public in September 2004 with the target to open other designated areas throughout the country by the end of 2005. The Yorkshire Dales National Park celebrated the introduction of Open Access on 28 May 2005. In a single day the area of the National Park that people could freely explore on foot rose from 4% to 62% - that's an extra 102,000 hectares of previously hidden countryside to explore across the Yorkshire Dales!