Key to opening the countryside under scrutiny

Like most walkers, for years I followed footpaths – in their way as clearly defined and signposted as the M62 – over grassy dalesides and vertiginous fells. And then, with the scenery demanding my attention more than where I put my feet, I stumbled off the path and found myself lost.

Feelings of disorientation were followed by a sense of guilt at not using the legal route. But when the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (usually known as CRoW) was passed on November 30, 2000, it seemed like those days were numbered. I could walk anywhere. And although it took several years to implement – 2004 in the South Pennines, for example, and 2005 in the Yorkshire Dales – at last there was a so-called Right to Roam in England, a freedom first talked about as long ago as the 1880s and for which some people went to prison.

The Act was opposed by many farmers and landowners, although some access restrictions were included to answer their fears. As for walkers, the Act was seen as the final victory for admission to large areas of uplands which had remained out of bounds despite many of them forming part of National Parks when they were designated in the 1950s.

But has it worked? Are the mountains and moorland of England now truly a rambler's paradise?

To a large extent, CRoW has been successful from a walker's point of view. To take advantage of it, people like myself have had to say goodbye to some of the plastic-toughened OS Explorer maps we thought would last a lifetime, and buy new ones that highlight the Open Access Land in yellow.

On the ground, boards showing the maps of each individual area have gone up at access points, although many of these soon weathered and became illegible. And while signposts and stiles were provided to facilitate the right to roam in some areas, others had few – if any – new facilities.

My personal horror story is from Gragareth, the lovely whalebacked fell which forms part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park's western border and is the highest point in Lancashire. Most people visit from the Kingsdale side then proceed from the summit to pay a visit to one of the Dales'

most fascinating features, a trio of tall cairns known as

The Three Men of Gragareth.

After my visit, returning to Kingsdale without having to climb back over the summit was a bad choice considering it was late-afternoon in November. A right to roam there might well be, but I could find no way to cross the extremely high wall which runs north to south for many miles along the backbone of Gragareth.

In growing darkness, I eventually gave up the search for a stile and tackled the difficult climb to the other side, then muttered about "so-called open access" on my faltering way back to the car.

Other walkers report generally good experiences. Hebden Bridge-based guidebook author Andrew Bibby says that some attractive landscape features in the Pennines are now open to walkers. For example, the gritstone outcrop known as the Alcomden Stones, near Top Withens on Haworth Moor, is now legally accessible.

Another prize delivered by the CRoW Act has been access to Boulsworth Hill, the highest land between the Derbyshire Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales. On a clear day, it's said to offer views of Scafell Pike, Ferrybridge Power Station and the Big One rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, but for decades the summit was mostly out of bounds. The founders of the Pennine Way wanted to include it in the original route but were forced to take their path several miles to the east.

Andrew says: "I think Open Access has been successful in that the old 'Keep Out' signs have come down for good. But in reality, the remotest areas of moorland – I'm thinking of places like the heads of Nidderdale and Wharfedale – are probably as deserted as they were before the Act."

Diane Hall, of the Ramblers Association's Calderdale branch, praises Yorkshire Water – the county's biggest landowner – for the way the company has provided new signs and stiles over large areas of moorland.

"They've made it very easy for us, although most of walkers still prefer to stick to a recognised footpath."

Although it didn't exactly welcome the CRoW Act with a fanfare, the National Farmers' Union says there have been few problems since the introduction of Open Access

Laurie Norris, the NFU's environment adviser in the North-East, echoes Diane Hall's point about usage. "The majority of people don't seem to veer off the path. Whether that's because the path takes them through better scenery or is easier to walk on, I don't know, but people haven't been exercising their right to roam the way everyone predicted."

However, the Moorland Association, whose members own and manage one-fifth of England's uplands, would like to see the CRoW Act amended.

Edward Bromet, the chairman, says: "Heather moorland is a very fragile habitat and the Act contains provisions to ensure that expectations of walkers can be met with the minimum of restrictions while ensuring wildlife conservation, prevention of fires, control of dogs to protect birds and nests, and effective management of the land for farming and shooting.

"But the restrictions do not work in practice. For example, walkers are expected to look up a website to check for restrictions before deciding where to safely walk their dog. Conflict with moorland managers, erosion of the habitat, damage to boundaries and disturbance to populations of important breeding birds are being experienced and most acutely on moorland closest to conurbations, such as moors in the southern Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors, South Yorkshire and Derbyshire."

The Moorland Association wants better public information, especially during the bird nesting and fledging season between March 1 and July 31.

Natural England was supposed to update the Open Access maps by 2014 but has been instructed by the new Government to put this on hold as an economic measure.

The senior access specialist for Natural England, Gerry Rusbridge, says:"I think CRoW has been a success. Most landowners have now got used to the idea of area-wide access,

in the same way they have lived all their lives with

public rights of way across their land."

To see maps of Open Access Land in England, visit www.naturalengland.org.uk and follow links from "Enjoying the

natural environment" and "Places to enjoy." Details of Andrew Bibby's guides to walking on Open Access Land, visit www.andrewbibby.com

CW 20/11/10