Isabella Cipirska

Walking in the countryside is one of my favourite things to do. There’s nothing more invigorating than being surrounded by a sea of green; the crisp, fresh air filling up my lungs. But at the same time, I never feel completely free – and that’s because I’m not.  Straying beyond the narrow confines of the footpath is likely to bring walkers like me face-to-face with ‘keep out’ or ‘no trespassing’ signs and barbed-wire fences. It means that anytime I struggle to follow the trail, I feel a prickle of school-girl fear that at any moment I could be told off. This isn’t paranoia. The public is excluded from legally accessing 92 percent of land in England, and 97 percent of its rivers. Wander into these restricted areas and, technically, you’re committing the civil offence of trespassing.  But campaigners are fighting for this to change. Right to Roam believes the public should be able to wander freely in the countryside, no matter whether the land is privately or publicly owned.  And, inspired by generations of ramblers before them, they’re leading joyful, non-confrontational mass trespasses into off-limits land to show the public what they’re missing out on. The public is excluded from 92 percent of land in England, and 97 percent of its rivers ‘The idea of having to be on a footpath in order to exist outdoors is really quite absurd,’ says Nadia Shaikh, a campaigner with the group. ‘Trespass is this idea that the best kind of direct action is living as though you’re already free.’