Activists on peer’s estate claim right to roam
‘We are quite a big group so it’s a bit of a surprise that we haven’t seen a gamekeeper or any of Lord Benyon’s staff ’
MORE than 100 protesters, including morris dancers and ramblers, descended on Lord Benyon’s estate yesterday as they pushed for an expansion of the right to roam.
They chose the 14,000-acre Englefield Estate in Berkshire because it is one of the largest in the country and Lord Benyon serves as the Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The protesters held banners aloft and were surprised they were able to enter unchallenged.
One of the demonstrators said: “We are a bit surprised that we haven’t been challenged. We are quite a big group so it’s a bit of a surprise that we haven’t seen a gamekeeper or any of Lord Benyon’s staff.”
The 130 activists sat under an oak tree listening to speeches in support of the right to roam.
The campaigners, from the group Right to Roam, want the Countryside and Rights of Way Act to be expanded to include woodlands, rivers and green belt land.
Right to Roam has also written an open letter to Lord Benyon, asking him to lend weight to their campaign to keep the countryside open for the public to enjoy via footpaths and walking routes.
Nick Hayes, the co-founder of Right to Roam, said: “It’s been an absolute unqualified triumph today.
“It’s been basically 130 people who have come on to land that they have been forbidden from for 400 years and feel nothing but comfort and a sense of belonging, which our campaign is seeking for us to feel on the land.”