Kinder Trespass 80th Birthday

© DuncanR

A week of walks, talks and other events is planned in April to mark the 80th anniversary of the Mass Trespass on Kinder Scout.

Kinder Scout  © DuncanR
Kinder Scout
© DuncanR, Jan 2010

The 1932 Mass Trespass, after which five ramblers were imprisoned for exercising their right to walk on the moors, is generally considered the most significant landmark in the century-old struggle to establish a Right to Roam. It was a seminal event not only for access legislation, finally achieved (after a fashion) by the CROW Act of 2000, but for the creation of our National Parks - of which the Peak District was the first in 1951.

The Kinder 80 Festival will be launched by author and broadcaster Stuart Maconie at the Moorland Centre, Edale, on Tuesday, April 24. Other speakers to the invited audience of countryside bodies will include BBC Radio 2's Mike Harding; Dame Fiona Reynolds, Director General of the National Trust, and Kate Ashbrook, secretary of the Open Spaces Society and vice-president of the Ramblers.

A sub-committee of the Kinder and High Peak Advisory Committee, representing the Peak District National Park Authority; Derbyshire County Council; the National Trust; the Ramblers; the BMC and the Sheffield Campaign for Access to Moorland, has organised the week of activities.

Chairman of the Kinder 80 committee Roly Smith commented:

'The Trespass anniversary has become an important date in the outdoor calendar, and many people believe that the sacrifice made 80 years ago by these ramblers should never be forgotten. But we also want to look forward to what has been achieved on Kinder since then.'

Events throughout the week will include a re-enactment walk by ramblers, some in 1930s gear; talks; exhibitions; guided walks; a Trespass-themed ceilidh and the re-launch of original Trespass leader Benny Rothman's book.

More details available on the event website.


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