800 years of walking

A nice lengthy time-perspective, from a prominent group of countryside walkers in the UK...

"Eight hundred years ago a Charter was sealed establishing the right to access England’s forests, previously the reserve of kings. Now, campaigning charity the Ramblers wants outdoor enthusiasts to help it shape the future of access, looking to the next eight centuries."

Sadly, the press-release has something of an 'anti-aristocracy' tone, and the Web link for action then leads one to a survey that's hosted on the website e-activist.com — associated with the UK's tainted 'infiltrated and taken over by animal-rights activists' organisation the RSPCA. I hope this doesn't indicate that the Ramblers may be going the same way as the RSPCA and the National Trust, in terms of being infiltrated by animal-rights nutters and similar lefties (see recent issues of Country Life magazine, and reports in The Times, for the gory details on the latter two organisations).

Still, like those who once lived in Soviet Russia, I think many people are increasingly able to 'bat away' the crude leftist slant n' cant that weaponises too many narratives these days, and can instead see through to the deeper story or to more worthy long-term aims. So... here's the link to the Ramblers' e-activist.com survey. I imagine that litter and dogs are going to be high on the list of concerns, but there are also longer-term considerations such as the re-wilding of the countryside and coastlines.