Vixen Tor, one of Britain’s most breathtaking natural features, remains out of bounds even though a public inquiry found it to be predominantly moorland, the only qualification necessary for land to be mapped as open country under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act.
The Tor was closed to the public in 2003 after more than thirty years of de facto access when the new owner erected barbed wire fences, ‘Keep Out’ signs and painted ‘Keep Out’ on the stone walls. Local people and walkers from across the country hoped access would be restored to the Tor under the ‘right to roam’, and even though findings show that the land should qualify, the public remains barred from visiting one of the areas’ most beautiful landscapes forever.
Kate Conto, Head of Access at the Ramblers’ Association, said: “We are shocked and angered by this decision. It’s clear from the Inquiry findings that the land does qualify as open country; it’s inconceivable that the public won’t ever be able to enjoy access to this beautiful part of our heritage because of the actions of one landowner.”
She added: “We firmly believe from the inspector’s own report that the wrong decision has been reached on this occasion, much to the disappointment of the public who were convinced that the mapping of open country would finally assure them legal access.”
The Ramblers Association objected to the appeal by Mrs Mary Alford and her son Daniel and were joined by the Open Spaces Society, the Dartmoor Preservation Association, the British Mountaineering Council, and the Countryside Agency, which were responsible for mapping the land.
Located near Tavistock, Vixen Tor is only yards from a public right of way running between the hamlets of Merrivale and Sampford Spiney. The move to prevent access to the Tor provoked uproar amongst the local community, as well as outdoor and environmental groups who had been able to freely visit the site under the previous owners’ more enlightened view of public access.
Mrs. Alford claims that she closed the site due to fears of being sued by members of the public who might injure themselves on her land. However, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act reduces landowner’s liability.
Last year Mrs. Alford was prosecuted and fined for breaking environmental laws on the land surrounding Vixen Tor. In what was seen as a deliberate attempt to ensure the land didn’t qualify as access land, she was found guilty of deliberately spreading fertiliser and clearing scrub to ‘agriculturally improve’ the land attempting to disqualify it for public access.
