ENVIRONMENT Minister Mairi McAllan joined outdoor communities at Holyrood to celebrate 20 years of Scottish access rights.
Ramblers Scotland held the #OutdoorsForAll event to mark two decades of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which gives the public legal rights to access nearly all land and inland water in Scotland.
Campaigners from Ramblers Scotland who fought to win the rights were among those in attendance, including Ramblers Scotland’s president and mountain leader Lucy Wallace, and the charity’s former presidents, including former politician Dennis Canavan and naturalist Ben Dolphin.
McAllan said: “Scotland’s landscapes are world famous, so too is our right to responsibly access them.
“There are so many benefits to spending time walking in our parks, woodlands and hills, including improving our physical health, nurturing mental wellbeing, tackling loneliness and many more. We should all be able to access these benefits and ourworld-leadingg rights provide this.
“Going forward, we must prioritise action to address the barriers and challenges that some still face in accessing the outdoors. No-one should be prevented from benefitting because of their circumstances.
“Ramblers Scotland members played a leading role in campaigning for Scotland’s access rights and now much of their work is focused on upholding them. I wish to send my thanks to them and all their volunteers for their time, commitment and enthusiasm for countryside access – enthusiasm which I wholeheartedly share.”
The Act, which is often known as "the right to roam", established a legal right to be on land and cross land for recreational and educational purposes, and limited types of commercial activities.
The public access rights apply equally to walkers, cyclists, climbers, canoeists, swimmers and horse riders.
The #OutdoorsForAll event was hosted by Highlands and Islands MSP Ariane Burgess, and Ramblers Scotland director Brendan Paddy was also present.
He highlighted how recent Scottish Government natural capital accounts place a value of £62 billion on outdoor recreation alone, pointing to it as greater than the oil and gas sector.
Paddy added: “The Land Reform Act 2003 is one of the stand-out achievements of Scotland’s devolved parliament, with our world-class access rights forming a cherished element of our national identity.
“The Act has delivered so much for the nation’s health, happiness and economy in the past 20 years, with booming numbers of people accessing our outdoors.
“This month’s anniversary also provides a useful moment to reflect upon how access to the outdoors remains unequal, with people in affluent areas considerably more likely to walk than those in deprived parts of Scotland.
“I hope that in the years ahead we focus even greater effort and resources upon ensuring that everyone – whatever their background, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability or age – benefits from Scotland’s amazing outdoors.”
The Scottish Household Survey 2020 found that 89% of people from Scotland’s 20% least deprived areas participated in walking, whereas 66% of those from the most deprived areas reported that they walk.
Ramblers Scotland continues to campaign at national level for increased investment in infrastructure, such as paths, rangers and low cost-campsites.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel