The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW) opened up large areas of mountain, moor, heath land, down land and registered common land for walkers but did not address access to coastal areas, woods and riverside.
With the Government making improving access to coastal areas an early priority for a its third term this has become the main focus of improving on the new right access granted by CRoW.
But this does not mean campaigning for access to woods and riverside has stopped.
Forestry Commission dedication of access land
Very soon after CRoW became law the Forestry Commission started the process of designating all it's freehold land as access land. By January 2006 this had lead to secure public access of 136,122 hectares of woodland. More information on access to Forestry Commission woods can be found on its Explore, Experience, Enjoy web-pages.
Improving access to riverside and waterside
Many people like to walk along river banks and canals but there is no general legal right to do so. It's not just walkers who are affected by this lack of access as the current campaign by the British Canoe Union shows.
Improving and increasing access to open countryside
