British Landowners and Walkers Face Off Regarding the Freedom to Roam

Unlike in the US, trespassing in Britian and Europe has traditionally favored the wanderer. Recent events, however, show that Nimbyism is taking root in the Old World.

1 minute read

May 19, 2004, 5:00 AM PDT

By C. Scott Smith


"The issue has become a vexed one. Ramblers in the tens of thousands insist on their right of access to open land once considered 'common.' Landowners frequently object, sometimes robustly. The result has been a tragicomic struggle steeped in 19th-century notions of class, land, and freedom. It sounds like a footnote to Marx, only this time it's Walkers of the World Unite."

Thanks to C. Scott Smith

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 in The Christian Science Monitor

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