Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society

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I’m Ken, the ScotWays Knowledge Base

Ask Me Your Outdoor Access Question

About Access Rights

33
  • #RespectProtectEnjoy
  • Rights of Way FAQ
  • What are Outdoor Access Rights?
  • Rights of Way
    • Development Proposals and Outdoor Access
    • Moving and Closing Paths
    • Path Maintenance
    • Private Signs, Private Roads, Public Roads, What’s the difference?
    • Rights of Access to Land
    • Rights of Way and Motor Vehicles
  • Statutory Access Rights
    • A Brief History of Access Rights
    • A local landowner has fenced off a path that is well used by local people, and has put up a sign saying No trespassers’. What can I do about it?
    • Are access rights different in Scotland from those in England and Wales?
    • Can I go wild camping in Scotland?
    • Horse riders are using a local path and churning it up so that it is difficult for walkers to use. What can be done?
    • Moving and Closing Paths
    • No Right of Access to Land in Scotland through the Scottish Outdoor Access Code
    • Path Maintenance
    • Private Signs, Private Roads, Public Roads, What’s the difference?
    • Right to Roam Timeline
    • Rights of Access to Land
    • Rights of Way and Motor Vehicles
    • Snares and traps in the Countryside
    • The Coming of Statutory Access Rights
    • The Scottish Outdoor Access Code, A Replacement for the Country Code
    • What activities are covered by rights of access?
    • What activities are not covered by rights of access?
    • What are core paths?
    • What does behaving responsibly mean?
    • What happens when there is a dispute about whether, or how, the rights of access apply?
    • What is a Local Access forum?
    • What is the National Access Forum?
    • Where do access rights not apply?
    • Who should I contact if I have a problem about access rights?

The Bookshelf

9
  • About The Bookshelf
  • Guidance on Legislation
  • Legislation
  • Responsible Access
  • Surveys of Rights of Way, Outdoor Access and Procedures
  • Rights of Way and Outdoor Access Management
    • Land Management
    • Path Management
    • People Management
    • Signposting and Interpretation

Court Cases

146
  • An outline of the Scottish Courts System
  • The Authority of Case Law
  • The complexity of the law
  • Cases under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003
    • Aviemore Highland Resort v Cairngorms National Park Authority
    • Caledonian Heritable Ltd v East Lothian Council
    • Creelman v Argyll & Bute Council
    • Forbes v Fife Council
    • Gloag v Perth & Kinross Council and the Rambler’s Association
    • Judicial Review: Petition of GREGORY BROWN for review of a decision by GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL (Cathkin Park, Glasgow)
    • Law Society of Scotland v Scottish Legal Complaints Commission
    • Renyana Stahl Anstalt v Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority Appeal Decision
    • Snowie v Stirling Council and Ramblers Association Lindsay and Barbara Ross v Stirling Council
    • Tuley v Highland Council
    • Williamson v Highland Activities Limited
  • Public rights of way and private servitude rights of way
    • Creation of public rights of way – need for public place end points
      • Cuthbertson v Young
      • Darrie v Drummond
      • Duncan v Lees
      • Jenkins v Murray
      • Lauder v MacColl
      • Leith-Buchanan v Hogg
      • Magistrates of Dunblane v Arnold-McCulloch
      • Marquis of Bute v McKirdy & McMillan
      • Melfort Pier Holidays Ltd v The Melfort Club and Others
      • Midlothian Council v Crolla
      • Oswald v Lawrie
      • Scott v Drummond
      • Smith v Saxton
      • Wood v North British Railway
    • Creation of public rights of way – use as of right by the public for the prescriptive period
      • Aberdeen City Council v Wanchoo and Neumann v Hutchison
      • Ayr Burgh Council v British Transport Commission
      • Burt v Barclay
      • Cadell v Stevenson
      • Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Council v Dollar Land (Cumbernauld) Ltd
      • Duffield Morgan v Lord Advocate
      • Kinloch’s Trustees v Young
      • Magistrates of Elgin v Robertson
      • McGregor v Crieff Co-operative Society Ltd
      • McInroy v Duke of Athole
      • Norrie v Magistrates of Kirriemuir
      • Rhins District Committee of the County Council of Wigtownshire v Cunninghame
      • Richardson v Cromarty Petroleum Co Ltd
      • Rome v Hope Johnstone
      • Scottish Rights of Way & Recreation Society Ltd v Macpherson
      • Strathclyde (Hyndland) Housing Society Ltd v Cowie
      • Wills Trustees v Cairngorm Canoeing and Sailing School Ltd
      • Wilson v Jamieson
    • Creation of rights of way – interruption of the prescriptive period
      • Mann v Brodie
    • Different kinds of use of rights of way
      • Aberdeenshire Council v Lord Glentanar
      • Carstairs v Spence
      • Crawford v Lumsden
      • Macfarlane v Morrison & Others (Robertson’s Trustees)
      • Mackenzie v Bankes
      • Malcolm v Lloyd
    • Need for a particular line for public rights of way
      • Home Drummond & Another (Petitioners)
      • Hozier v Hawthorne
      • Mackintosh v Moir
    • Obstruction of rights of way
      • Aitchison v India Tyre & Rubber Co.
      • Anderson v Earl of Morton
      • Drury v McGarvie
      • Earl of Morton v Anderson
      • Fife Council v Nisbet
      • Geils v Thomson
      • Glasgow and Carlisle Road Trustees v Tennant
      • Glasgow and Carlisle Road Trustees v Whyte
      • Graham v Sharpe
      • Hay v Earl of Morton’s Trustees
      • Kirkpatrick v Murray
      • Lanarkshire Water Board v Gilchrist
      • Lord Donington v Mair
      • Macdonald v Watson
      • Midlothian District Council v MacKenzie
      • Rodgers v Harvie
      • Soriani v Cluckie
      • Stewart, Pott & Co. v Brown Brothers & Co
      • Sutherland v Thomson
    • Procedural issues
      • Alexander v Picken
      • Alston v Ross
      • Hope v Landward District Committee of the Parish Council of Inveresk
      • Macfie v Scottish Rights of Way and Recreation Society Limited
      • Nairn v Speedie
      • Potter v Hamilton
      • Torrie v Duke of Atholl
    • Public and private rights of way – ancillary rights and burdens
      • Allan v McLachlan
      • Lord Burton v Mackay
      • McRobert v Reid
      • Milne v Inveresk Parish Council
      • Moncrieff v Jamieson
      • Preston’s Trustees v Preston
    • Relationship of public rights of way with private servitude rights of way and with ‘roads’ under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984
      • Public rights of way and ‘roads’ under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984
        • Davidson v Earl of Fife
        • Hamilton v Dumfries & Galloway Council
        • Hamilton v Nairn
      • Relationship of public rights of way with private servitude rights of way
        • Alvis v Harrison
        • McGavin v McIntyre
        • Thomson v Murdoch
    • Rights of way – land owned by statutory undertakers or the Crown
      • Ayr Harbour Trustees v Oswald
      • British Transport v Westmoreland County Council
      • Edinburgh Corporation v North British Railway Co.
      • Ellice’s Trustees v Commissioners for the Caledonian Canal
      • Kinross County Council v Archibald
      • Lord Advocate v Strathclyde Regional Council and Lord Advocate v Dumbarton District Council
      • Oban Town Council v Callander & Oban Railway
      • The Ramblers Association v The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (and Others)
  • Navigation rights and rights in relation to the foreshore
    • Navigation rights
      • Campbell’s Trustees v Sweeney
      • Colquhoun’s Trustees v Orr Ewing & Co
      • Crown Estate Commissioners v Fairlie Yacht Slip Ltd.
      • Denaby and Cadeby Main Collieries Ltd v Anson
      • Ellerman Lines Ltd v Clyde Navigation Trustees
      • Kames Bay Case – Petition of the Crown Estate Commissioners
      • Walford v David
      • Wills Trustees v Cairngorm Canoeing and Sailing School Ltd
    • Rights in relation to the foreshore
      • Leith-Buchanan v Hogg
      • Marquis of Bute v McKirdy & McMillan
      • Officers of State v Smith
  • Liability
    • Cases relating to contributory negligence
      • Smith v Finch
    • Liability of recreational users to one another
      • Anthony Phee v James Gordon & Niddry Castle Golf Club 4 November 2011
      • Milne v Duguid
      • Pearson v Lightning
    • Occupiers’ liability: Cases involving ‘hazards’ in the outdoors
      • Anderson v The Scottish Ministers
      • Brown v South Lanarkshire Council
      • Duff v East Dunbartonshire Council
      • Fegan v Highland Regional Council
      • Graham v East of Scotland Water
      • Johnstone v Sweeney
      • Lang v Kerr Anderson & Co.
      • Marshall v North Ayrshire Council
      • McCluskey v Lord Advocate
      • Michael Leonard v The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority
      • Prosecution by the Health & Safety Executive Dunoon Sheriff Court, 18th August 2010
      • Strachan v Highland Council
      • Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council
      • Trueman v Aberdeenshire Council
      • Wright v Nevis Range Development Company
    • Occupiers’ liability: Cases involving children
      • Dawson v Scottish Power
      • Glasgow Corporation v Taylor
      • Jolley v Sutton London Borough Council
      • Stevenson v Glasgow Corporation
    • Occupiers’ liability: Cases involving facilities/indoor premises
      • McCondichie v Mains Medical Centre
      • Poppleton v Peter Ashley Activities Centre
      • Porter v Borders Council
    • Cases involving animals
      • Gardiner v Miller
      • Shirley McKaskie v John Cameron
      • Welsh v Brady
  • Other cases of interest
    • Carol Rohan Beyts v Trump International Golf Club Scotland Limited
    • Law Society of Scotland v Scottish Legal Complaints Commission
    • Neizer v Rhodes
    • R v Howard

Heritage Paths

18
  • Heritage Paths Introduction
  • Historic Footpaths
  • The Launch of the Heritage Paths website
  • About Types of Heritage Paths
    • Coffin Roads
    • Drove Roads
    • Fish Roads
    • Heritage Paths Introduction
    • Leisure Paths
    • Medieval Roads
    • Military Roads
    • Pilgrimage Routes
    • Postie Paths
    • Public works and private enterprise: moving towards the modern transport system
    • Religious Routes
    • Roman Roads
    • Salters’ Roads
    • Trade Routes
    • Traveller Routes

History

36
  • Historic Footpaths
  • The Launch of the Heritage Paths website
  • History of Access
    • A Brief History of Access Rights
    • Boardwalks, the oldest types of constructed path
    • Right to Roam Timeline
    • The Bedford Memorial Bridge
    • The Coming of Statutory Access Rights
    • The Scottish Outdoor Access Code, A Replacement for the Country Code
    • What is the National Access Forum?
  • History of ScotWays
    • 175th Anniversary
    • 1844 The beginning of ScotWays
    • Scottish Hill Tracks – the 100+ year story
    • The Association for the Protection of Public Rights of Roadway in and Around Edinburgh
    • The Bedford Memorial Bridge
    • The History of ScotWays
    • Welcome the Scottish Rights of Way and Recreation Society Limited
    • What’s in a name?
    • You are invited to the opening of the Rev A. E. Robertson Memorial Bridge
  • Important People of Scottish Access
    • Adam Black (1784-1874)
    • Archibald Eneas Robertson (1870-1958)
    • Arthur W Russell (1873-1967)
    • Donald Bennet (1928-2013)
    • Donald Grant Moir  (1902-1986)
    • John George Bartholomew (1860-1920)
    • John Hutton Balfour (1808-1884)
    • Professor Sir Robert (Bob) Grieve (1910 -1995)
    • Rennie McOwan (1933-2018)
    • Tom Weir (1914-2006)
    • Viscount James Bryce (1838-1922)
    • Walter Arthur Smith (1852-1934)
    • William Ferris (1894-1963)
  • Signposting
    • 1964 When figure 740 changed the face of path signs
    • A Signposting Tour of the Cairngorms
    • ScotWays’s Oldest Standing Signpost
    • The Changing Face of ScotWays Signs
    • The First ScotWays Signposts

Scottish Hill Tracks

2
  • Scottish Hill Tracks – the 100+ year story
  • Scottish Hill Tracks Updates
  • Home
  • Ask Ken
  • History
  • History of Access
  • Right to Roam Timeline
View Categories

Right to Roam Timeline

The right of responsible access to land and inland water throughout Scotland was groundbreaking when it came into operation in February 2005, but it didn’t just happen. It took centuries.

Here’s a list of the different bills, Acts of Parliament and some key events leading to our amazing access legislation.

1845 ScotWays predecessor – The Association for the Preservation of Public Rights of Roadway in and Around Edinburgh was created. James Bryce would become a Director in future years.

1865 The Open Spaces Society was created and one of its supporters was James Bryce MP.

1884 start of the “Pet Lamb” case. A cause célèbre for a right of access.

1884 James Bryce MP introduces Access to the Mountains (Scotland) Bill Clause 2 -” no owner or occupier of uncultivated mountains or moorlands in Scotland shall be entitled to exclude any person from going on such lands for recreation or scientific or artistic study, or to molest him in so walking.”

1887 2,000 people march on Latrigg, Keswick, Cumberland, protesting the closure of paths to the top.

1888 Access to the Mountains (Scotland) Bill introduced by James Bryce

1888 Mountains, Rivers and Pathways (Wales) Bill supported by James Bryce.

1892 The first federation of groups of ramblers took place in Glasgow, with the formation of the West of Scotland Ramblers’ Alliance.

1892 Access to the Mountains (Scotland) (No.2) Bill 26 May 1892. On this occasion, a second reading occurred and the bill was accepted by Government but bogged down at the committee stage. Bryce said in the Commons “The scenery of our country has been filched away from us just when we have begun to desire it more than ever before.”

1892 The Tory Government introduce their own access to the countryside bill, a diluted version of Bryce’s but still with the essential wording. A general election call in June 1892 stopped it from going further.

1894 Local Government (Scotland) Act made rights of way the direct responsibility of local authorities. Wording for the duty of the local authority is the same as the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967 and the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

1896 On the path up Winter Hill north of Bolton, Lancashire, there was a mass trespass on 6 September. A memorial stone says “Will You Come O’ Sunday Morning? On this Sunday 6 September, 1896 10,000 Boltonians marched by this spot to reclaim an ancient right of way over Winter Hill. The path is now dedicated as a right of way for the enjoyment of all.”

1898 Access to the Mountains (Scotland) Bill. The last time Jame Bryce introduced the Act.

1900 Access to the Mountains (Scotland) Bill Introduced by Annan Bryce, younger brother of James Bryce.

1905 Federation of Rambling Clubs formed.

1906 Access to the Mountains (Scotland) Bill introduced by Annan Bryce.

1908 Access to the Mountains (Scotland) Bill was introduced by Annan Bryce and supported by Charles Trevelyan. Debated at length in the House of Commons, extended the provisions to the whole of the U.K., got a second reading, An impasse was reached and the House agreed to proceed no further.

1909 Access to the Mountains Bill introduced by Annan Bryce.

1924 Countryside Access Bill introduced based on Bryce’s original 1884 version.

1925 Law of Property Act gives the public the right to walk and ride on certain commons and protect commons from enclosure and encroachment. It thus created the first right of access to land in the U.K. – the Central and Southern Lakeland fells.

1930 Access to the Mountains Bill.

1931 Access to the Mountains Bill.

1931 National Council of Ramblers’ Federation was formed.

1932 500 ramblers stage a mass trespass on Kinder Scout in the Pennines. The leaders are arrested and jailed.

1935 Ramblers’ Association formed.

1937 Access to the Mountains Bill 8 July 1937 introduced by Arthur Creech-Jones

1938 Access to the Mountains Bill gets a second reading good, makes it through the committee stages and becomes …

1939 the Access to Mountains Act. The first Act to deal with outdoor access, but it made trespass a criminal offence in certain cases and placed limits on access. Not a good act, but it was never used and didn’t apply to Scotland.

1939-45 Government encourages “walking in war-time” programme.

1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act repeals the Access to Mountains Act 1939 and introduces procedures for creating access to land in England and Wales.

1958 A Royal Commission recommended the public should have a right of access to all common land.

1967 Countryside (Scotland) Act introduces procedures for creating access land in Scotland powers little if ever, used.

1978 Access to Commons and Open Country Bill introduced by Arthur Blenkinsop

1980 Access to Commons and Open Country Bill introduced by David Clark

1982 Walkers (Access to the Countryside) Bill introduced by Andrew Bennett on the 50th anniversary of Kinder Scout Trespass.

1983 Access to the Countryside Bill introduced by Andrew Bennett.

1992 Scottish Natural Heritage ‘Enjoying the Outdoors’ consultation launched.

1993 Letterewe Accord agreed between the Ramblers, Mountaineering Council of Scotland and estate owner Paul van Vlissengen.

1994 Freedom to Roam (Access to Countryside) Bill introduced by Margaret Ewing.

1994 National Access Forum was established.

1995 Enjoying the outdoors a programme for action: summary of Scottish Natural Heritage’s access report published.

1996 National Access Forum agrees the Access Concordat.

1996 National Access Forum (Inland Water) was established.

1997 New Labour Government asked Scottish Natural Heritage to make proposals for new outdoor access legislation.

1998 Scottish Natural Heritage sets out its proposals in Access to the Countryside for Open Air Recreation.

1998 Consultation launched on Access to the Open Countryside in England and Wales.

1999 Scottish Parliament re-established.

2000 Countryside and Rights of Way Act receives Royal Assent, granting walkers in England and Wales the right to roam over mountain, moor, heath and down

2001 Draft Land Reform Bill published.

2001 Foot and Mouth Disease strikes. The effects of the disease were felt much wider than just the farming community which ultimately helped to shape the Land Reform Bill.

2003 Land Reform (Scotland) Act receives Royal Assent

2004 Scottish Outdoor Access Code was created.

2005 Access Rights come into operation on 9 February 2005.

Why not read A Brief History of Access Rights or The Coming of Access Rights?

Access Forum, Legislation, Outdoor Access History, Statutory Access Rights
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Updated on 30 January 2025

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The Scottish Rights of Way & Access Society. Upholding Public Access.
Registered Office: 24 Annandale Street, Edinburgh, EH7 4AN. Tel: 0131 558 1222.
A company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland. Company number 24243.
Scottish Charity number SC015460.
VAT registration number 221 6132 56.
©2000-
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