Commonsense has prevailed in the newly-opened countryside

8:57am Thursday 27th December 2007

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IT is now two years since the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRWA) has been implemented in Wharfedale, giving people unprecedented access to previously restricted land.

In Wharfedale and other parts of northern England, vast tracts of land were officially opened up under the Act but evidence shows that few people have taken the opportunity to abandon the footpath network and tramp across heather moors in a determination to exercise their new found freedom.

For one thing, many open areas were already on the footpath map with rights of way or local access agreements and for another, it's much easier to walk on previously designated footpaths than to strike out across the morass of Pennine moorland.

In a quiet and unobtrusive fashion, climbers in the Wharfedale have tentatively been taking advantage of the new so-called Right to Roam' by enjoying the challenge of an imposing crag, whose previous by arrangement only' status had limited its popularity.

Ironically the crag is owned by a descendent of a man whose determination to keep walkers off his vast untrammelled estates has made his name infamous in the history of British outdoor folklore.

This year saw the 75th anniversary of the 'Mass Trespass' of Kinder Scout, in the Peak District of Derbyshire when hundreds of young, mainly working class walkers ignored the fearsome gamekeepers and 'No Access' signs to scramble up the side of the hill in what has now become a legendary tale of defiance.

Following a clash with the gamekeepers six of the walkers were arrested and five were subsequently jailed, dubiously found guilty of public order offences by local magistrates.

Kinder Scout is part of the vast Chatsworth Estates of the Duke of Devonshire, who also owns the sprawling Bolton Abbey estates in Wharfedale.

To his credit at the 70th anniversary of the Trespass in 2002, the last Duke of Devonshire- who died two years later in 2004 - apologised for the conduct of his grandfather, saying: "The Trespass was a great shaming event on my family, and the sentences handed down were appalling. But out of a great evil can come great good. The Trespass was the first event in the whole movement of access to the countryside and the creation of our National Parks."

Kinder Scout is now held in perpetuity by the National Trust. Bolton Abbey is still part of the estate of the present Duke of Devonshire who inherited the title in 2004.

The estate is criss-crossed with miles and miles of footpaths but until the CROW Act came into force, much of the moor land and some of the crags it contained were accessible with permission only under the access agreements.

It is entirely reasonable for the owners and managers of sensitive areas of moor to want to preserve their unique environment and habitats, and the behaviour of a minority of countryside users - climbers included - lighting fires, damaging walls, vandalising grouse buts, leaving rubbish and carving their names into rocks, leaves much to be desired.

But the mere fact that climbers could not simply turn up at a crag and climb without telephoning the Duke's estate or tenant for permission meant that some of the very attractive climbs at Eastby were neglected.

Eastby, just outside the village of Embsay, lay outside the Barden Moor and Barden Fell Access Area, which contains a number of crags which climbers were allowed to turn up and climb.

On the approach to Eastby Crag, there is an old wooden sign which displays its age by stating that permission to climb must be obtained from the Chatsworth Estate' .

Now it and the other areas have been declared areas of open access under the CRWA. This year climbers from the Guiseley-based Vertically Challenged Climbing Club have been including Eastby on their regular itinerary for the first time.

The club, which includes members from Aireborough, Otley, Addingham and Ilkley, has taken advantage of the new access arrangements without making any adverse impact on the crag itself. Other climbers have also been trying out the many excellent routes at Eastby.

Although she has climbed there before after asking permission from the estate, Anne Freund, of Yeadon, said: "Eastby is a very accessible crag with great views. It seems to have become much more popular since the access changed."

Bolton Abbey estate manager Ben Hayes told Wharfedale Newspapers that the CROW Act had not had a major impact because of the already existing access agreements implemented by the previous Duke of Devonshire.

Mr Heyes said: "There are already an extensive range of public footpaths to which we have added permissive footpaths. We have always been very pro public access."

As for damage and vandalism, Mr Heyes said that the estate had always suffered from people who abused the countryside but there had not been an increase since the implementation of the CROW.

As far as the previous arrangements for access to Easty Crag had been concerned, Mr Heyes said that they had worked well with climbers.

"It is a particularly attractive crag to climb so there was always an interest," said Mr Heyes. Responding to the CROW Act the estate has now created a permissive foothpath from the road to the crag to minimise any damage caused by the increasing numbers of eager visitors.

In Addingham, moor land farmer Stanley Flesher dreaded the implementation of new Act, not because he was afraid of walkers but because officials had drawn maps over his land showing footpaths which did not exist and obliterating the footpaths that had been there for hundreds of years. In a victory for common-sense, Mr Flesher said that most walkers on his Addingham Moorside farm showed more gumption than the Government officials.

Mr Fesher said: "Most people know where the footpaths are and they keep to the footpaths."

It seems then that not much has changed despite the cost of the whole exercise. Walkers, landowners and climbers have proved that the best arrangements for using the countryside are determined by commonsense, not by legislation.