Wild and Free

We know that Britain’s land ownership is unbalanced, but what about land access? Who can visit our green and pleasant spaces, who is making use of them and who is taking care of them?

Much is made of open access in Scotland, but what is the reality of the policy in practice, and should England and Wales embrace it?

The largest demonstration about land access since the 1930s took place on Dartmoor in 2023. It was organised by the Right to Roam Campaign, which has become a powerful voice in England and Wales - clamouring for open access for all to every acre.

In Wild and Free, Patrick Galbraith takes us on a tour of the British countryside to investigate the reality of open access - what are the rewards and what are the risks? He follows threads from Dartmoor to London, explores Loch Lomond in Scotland, where the right to wild camping had to be withdrawn due to widespread misuse, and alongside leading Right to Roamer Guy Shrubsole, he visits conservation projects endangered by the R2R campaign. He finds that the 128,000 miles of public footpaths and the 3.6 million acres of open access land already connect nearly every acre of countryside. He also discovers the reality of the Scottish situation. As Patrick criss-crosses the countryside, a picture begins to appear of what is actually the problem.

Wild and Free is the true visionary insight into the issues in the British countryside - where access is much more restricted by lack of transport and issues of diversity, which need to be solved to allow the whole population access to the countryside. It is a practical guide to what actually needs to be done with a profound message - Let’s work with what we already have.

Patrick Galbraith is a journalist and writer whose work has appeared in The Times, Country Life, The Spectator and The Telegraph. He is commissioning editor for The Open Art Fair magazine.