Right to Roam

The freedom to roam, or “everyman’s right”, is the general public’s right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness or the “right to roam”.

In Scotland

In Scotland the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 comprehensively codified into Scots law the ancient tradition of the right to universal access to the land in Scotland. The act specifically establishes a right to be on land for recreational, educational and certain other purposes and a right to cross land. The rights exist only if they are exercised responsibly, as specified in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

I recommend this podcast about the history of how Roaming became possible. They talk about Scotland at 22:10

When 99% Invisible producer Katie Mingle’s father Jim Mingle retired, he began walking–a lot. He’d always been a walker, but with more time, he took up long-distance, multi-day trips. And even though he’s an American, he mostly preferred to walk in the UK. In fact, over the course of a decade, he walked the entire length of Great Britain.

Bothies

Bothies are small lodges that used to be used by farmers, they dot the fields of Scotland. You can use them when you go on multi day hikes!

Holiday homes they are not. Camping without a tent is closer to the mark, though lots of things can be useful in a bothy that have no place in a tent, such as candles or a line for drying socks from.

Resources

Documento com os teus direitos e deveres como “Rambler” :)

Lista de Local Paths Network da Scotland