Access to Land: Social Class, Activism and the Genealogy of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act

This paper investigates the genealogy of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The paper places the legislation within a broader, historical context and examines the social and legislative changes which prepared the way for a ‘right to roam’. The article also analyses the effect of civil disobedience and pressure group politics, questioning whether the new right of access is a victory for the access lobby, a compromise between conflicting interests or the product of an emerging political consensus.