Every country walker knows the cry. Where the hell is the footpath? A right of way with no signpost is not a legal right at all. It is an invitation to trespass.
The revelation that 2,500 areas of English countryside that supposedly enjoy a “right to roam” can be reached only by trespassing over private land is absurd. It means that some 2,700 hectares of open land effectively require a helicopter for their legal access. Even the busy South Downs has 11 unreachable “islands” of delight. Meanwhile, campaigners have recorded 32,000 cases of blocked public footpaths across England and Wales. The contrast with France could not be more glaring, where trails – from local track to “grande randonnée” – are routinely and meticulously marked on trees and gateposts. Way-marking in Britain is atrocious.
