How Scotland became the best place in the world to take a walk on the wildside
It is often said Scotland has the best access rights in the world with a right to roam almost anywhere of our choosing. This is great news if you live in or are visiting the country.
Next year marks 20 years since the Scottish Outdoor Access Code was introduced, so it feels like a good time to celebrate the freedom that walkers, ramblers, mountaineers and members of the public have when out and about.
It was a couple of years after the foot-and-mouth outbreak across the country that the Scottish Government launched the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.
This legislation outlined new rights of “responsible public access to land and the countryside”. It excluded houses, private gardens and building sites. As well as opening up access on foot, legally, the 2003 act also covered water sports, cycling, horse-riding, and camping. It allowed people to wild camp, provided they did so using a small tent and were out of sight of buildings or roads.
The right did not apply to motorised transport. Then, in 2005, the Scottish Outdoor Access Code was created and came into operation.
“With access rights come responsibilities for both users and land managers that are detailed in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. We encourage all our members to become familiar with the code before they head out to the hills or crags,” advises Mountaineering Scotland.
For almost two decades we have, in Scotland, been adhering to our access rights and adhering to the code’s three main principles: respecting the interests of others; caring for the environment and taking responsibility for our own actions. We continue to enjoy the freedom our access rights bring, especially as legislation is stricter elsewhere.
However, this legislation was a long time coming. Scotways, the Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society, points out: “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.”
That’s because there were dozens of bills and acts of Parliament and other key events leading to, as Scotsways puts it, “our amazing access legislation”.
“The legislation was hailed at the time as truly progressive and has become the envy of many,” says Scots Magazine columnist, Cameron McNeish. “The only comparable legislation is the Allemannsretten of the Scandinavian countries. Many people feel that the right to walk on land responsibly is a human right and that the Scottish legislation is a beacon to the rest of the world.
“To be honest, in my 50 years of walking and climbing in Scotland I’ve never known anything other than a right to walk the land but many people were concerned about threats, like trespassing and breaking laws that didn’t actually exist in Scotland. So, it was felt that the longestablished right of access in Scotland should be codified by law.”
Before you go out and about in Scotland, know the code: www.outdooraccess-scotland.com