The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), also known as the CRoW Act and "Right to Roam" Act, is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000.

Right to roam

The Act implements the so-called "

right to roam The freedom to roam, or everyone's right, every person's right or everyman's right, is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the ...

" (also known as ''jus spatiandi'') long sought by the

Ramblers' Association The Ramblers' Association, branded simply as the Ramblers, is Great Britain's walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path network. T ...

and its predecessors, on certain upland and uncultivated areas of England and Wales. This element of the act was implemented in stages as conclusive maps of different regions were produced. The act refers to areas of '

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

, moor,

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

and down' in addition to registered

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

; not all uncultivated land is covered.

Rights of way

A staged review of

public rights of way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

, including limited rights to create new public footpaths where needed, is being conducted under the Act. Again, this is being conducted in a staged manner, which can produce anomalies – of the two administrative areas of the County of Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire was revised in the Southern area and the rest of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

in the Midlands. Some long-standing areas of dispute became accessible under the Act – these include

Chrome Hill Chrome Hill is a limestone reef knoll in Derbyshire, England, in the upper River Dove, Central England, Dove valley beside the border with Staffordshire, within the civil parish of Hartington Middle Quarter. It is adjacent to Parkhouse Hill, ...

and

Parkhouse Hill Parkhouse Hill is a small but distinctive hill in the Peak District National Park of the Hartington Middle Quarter civil parish, in the English county of Derbyshire. It lies on the north side of the River Dove, close to the border with Staffor ...

in the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

. The act sets a deadline of 2031 to log all public footpaths, bridleways and rights of way, with view to adding them to an official map. However, as of 2024, there was reported to be a growing backlog of applications to be processed.

Nature conservation

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act also made some changes in respect of nature conservation, in particular to Part I of the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species ...

. The three main changes are: the maximum penalty is now a term of imprisonment instead of a fine; the Secretary of State can designate "wildlife inspectors" who have a range of powers under the Act; offences of disturbing certain birds and animals are extended to cover reckless as well as intentional acts. The act gave power to create local access forums (commonly referred to as 'LAFs'), comprising a balance of user, landowner and other interests, to give advice on development of access land and of the path network; the policy of footpath improvement would be set out in a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (RoWIP).

Scotland

A more extensive

Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which establishes statutory public rights of access to land and makes provisions under which bodies representing rural and crofting communities may buy land. Provisions ...

was enacted by the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

which formalised the Scottish tradition of unhindered access to open countryside, provided that care is taken not to cause damage or interfere with activities including farming and game stalking.

References

External links