Lewis Winks - Inaccessible England

Inaccessible England

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Lewis Winks

Our most stunning 'national landscapes' are largely out of bounds

Our most stunning 'national landscapes' are largely out of bounds

National Landscapes (formerly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) are amongst the nations most celebrated landscapes, yet 22 out of 34 National Landscapes in England have less than 10% of their area designated for public access. The National Landscape Association state that "they are the UK’s nearby countryside -

England's Access Islands

England's Access Islands

A process of costly desk-based mapping at the turn of the century created pockets of land to which the public technically have a legal right of access within, yet lack legal right of access to; in some cases requiring an act of trespass to exercise rights there. These are England&

England's Inaccessible Woodland

England has 1.3 million hectares of woodland, yet almost three quarters of that is inaccessible, with 18 counties having access to less than 25% of their woods. Dappled evening light in a bluebell glade. The smell of resinous pine rising with the first of the day's sun.

Rights of way or a right to roam?

Rights of way or a right to roam?

Out of 47 English counties, 29 have under 2km of footpaths per km2; and out of these, 22 counties have less than 5% of land available for public access. One of the challenges Right to Roam campaigners often hear is: “We already have excellent footpaths here in England – you don’