Kate Ashbrook
Its purpose is to protect Britain’s commons, greens and open spaces, and the public’s right of access to them. Olivia Edward talks to her about the role of geography in her work and why she walked across a live firing range on Dartmoor in 1978.
I really enjoyed geography at school, particularly physical geography; I loved learning how landscapes were formed. But I was only ever interested in this country’s landscapes, I was never really interested in geography abroad. I think it was because you could actually go and see corries and arêtes and all the other things you had learned about.
If someone mentions a place in England or Wales, I’ll automatically think, ‘What’s the underlying rock?’ So if they say Hook Norton, I’ll immediately think, ‘Ah, ironstone country.’ Or if they say, the Yorkshire Wolds, I’ll think, ‘That wonderful bit of chalk.’ I can’t help making that connection. I guess it’s because the underlying rock affects how the place looks, how the communities are arranged and the common land.
All land in this country is owned by someone. Commons are all owned by somebody, so ‘common’ is a slightly odd name for them. They are land where [certain] people other than the landowner have the right to graze animals or collect wood or dig peat. And, after the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, the public has the right to walk on all commons.
The history of commons goes back to medieval times, so they’re very special. In feudal times, they were used by the local people to survive: to graze animals and to light the hearth. Now, a high proportion are sites of special scientific interest. They’re special because they are undisturbed and haven’t had fertiliser put on them or been intensively managed, so they’re very natural.
When the enclosures came along, an awful lot of commons were lost. Then we lost a whole lot more in 1965. We had the Commons Registration Act, and if you didn’t register land as a common within three years, it was lost.
The registration of greens is really exciting because it’s a chance for people to rescue bits of land for community use. If there’s a bit of land that has been used for 20 years by local people for recreation, and they haven’t been stopped, and they haven’t asked permission, or been given permission, then it’s possible that they can register it as a village green. It doesn’t need to be a traditional village green, it can be a grotty old bit of land behind a housing estate or business park.
I fell in love with Dartmoor when I first went there on a riding holiday. I was ten years old and it was a brilliant August. I remember it really clearly. But when the military was firing, we couldn’t ride in particular places, and sometimes we weren’t allowed to ride on the moor at all. As I found out more about [the military’s presence] I thought, ‘Golly, this is really outrageous,’ and I got really angry about it.
I walked across [Dartmoor’s] ranges in 1978. I wanted to test the system and see if they would stop firing if they knew someone was walking across. They didn’t, and it was quite scary. Afterwards, they put up more look-out huts and reviewed the safety procedures.
I don’t think there should be live firing on Dartmoor or in any other national park. We should absolutely cherish them and treat them properly. There should be a complete review of the military use of land in the UK. There has never been an independent review.
The military used to use Dartmoor’s ancient monuments as targets. You would find standing stones with shell holes in them. They don’t do that any more, but [the military’s presence] is still an intrusion because of their huts and flag poles and signs. It’s the suburbanisation of a wilderness.
Once a highway, always a highway. Footpaths have always existed, but it wasn’t until the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act that every rural council was required to have an official map of rights of way. That’s why, if you look at an OS map today, you can see the green dashes and dots that are the actual rights of way taken from the definitive maps. Loads were missed off but, in contrast to the commons, they don’t cease to exist, and people can still apply to have footpaths registered.
I think if somebody owns land, they are really lucky and they should be prepared to share it. Land is for sharing; it’s not just for keeping for yourself. So I do think [the general public] should have greater rights over land.
Curriculum vitae
1955 Born in London
1973–76 Bachelor of Science (Hons) in biology, University of Exeter
1981–84 Honorary secretary, Dartmoor Preservation Association
1984–present General secretary, Open Spaces Society
1995–98 Chairman, Ramblers Association
1995–present President, Dartmoor Preservation Society
1996–2006 Board member, Countryside Agency
2003–present Chairman, Campaign for National Parks
2003 Reopens blocked ‘Hoogstraten’ footpath after a five-year battle
2006–09 Chairman, Ramblers Association
To learn more about the Open Spaces Society, visit www.oss.org.uk
June 2009
I really enjoyed geography at school, particularly physical geography; I loved learning how landscapes were formed. But I was only ever interested in this country’s landscapes, I was never really interested in geography abroad. I think it was because you could actually go and see corries and arêtes and all the other things you had learned about.
If someone mentions a place in England or Wales, I’ll automatically think, ‘What’s the underlying rock?’ So if they say Hook Norton, I’ll immediately think, ‘Ah, ironstone country.’ Or if they say, the Yorkshire Wolds, I’ll think, ‘That wonderful bit of chalk.’ I can’t help making that connection. I guess it’s because the underlying rock affects how the place looks, how the communities are arranged and the common land.
All land in this country is owned by someone. Commons are all owned by somebody, so ‘common’ is a slightly odd name for them. They are land where [certain] people other than the landowner have the right to graze animals or collect wood or dig peat. And, after the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, the public has the right to walk on all commons.
The history of commons goes back to medieval times, so they’re very special. In feudal times, they were used by the local people to survive: to graze animals and to light the hearth. Now, a high proportion are sites of special scientific interest. They’re special because they are undisturbed and haven’t had fertiliser put on them or been intensively managed, so they’re very natural.
When the enclosures came along, an awful lot of commons were lost. Then we lost a whole lot more in 1965. We had the Commons Registration Act, and if you didn’t register land as a common within three years, it was lost.
The registration of greens is really exciting because it’s a chance for people to rescue bits of land for community use. If there’s a bit of land that has been used for 20 years by local people for recreation, and they haven’t been stopped, and they haven’t asked permission, or been given permission, then it’s possible that they can register it as a village green. It doesn’t need to be a traditional village green, it can be a grotty old bit of land behind a housing estate or business park.
I fell in love with Dartmoor when I first went there on a riding holiday. I was ten years old and it was a brilliant August. I remember it really clearly. But when the military was firing, we couldn’t ride in particular places, and sometimes we weren’t allowed to ride on the moor at all. As I found out more about [the military’s presence] I thought, ‘Golly, this is really outrageous,’ and I got really angry about it.
I walked across [Dartmoor’s] ranges in 1978. I wanted to test the system and see if they would stop firing if they knew someone was walking across. They didn’t, and it was quite scary. Afterwards, they put up more look-out huts and reviewed the safety procedures.
I don’t think there should be live firing on Dartmoor or in any other national park. We should absolutely cherish them and treat them properly. There should be a complete review of the military use of land in the UK. There has never been an independent review.
The military used to use Dartmoor’s ancient monuments as targets. You would find standing stones with shell holes in them. They don’t do that any more, but [the military’s presence] is still an intrusion because of their huts and flag poles and signs. It’s the suburbanisation of a wilderness.
Once a highway, always a highway. Footpaths have always existed, but it wasn’t until the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act that every rural council was required to have an official map of rights of way. That’s why, if you look at an OS map today, you can see the green dashes and dots that are the actual rights of way taken from the definitive maps. Loads were missed off but, in contrast to the commons, they don’t cease to exist, and people can still apply to have footpaths registered.
I think if somebody owns land, they are really lucky and they should be prepared to share it. Land is for sharing; it’s not just for keeping for yourself. So I do think [the general public] should have greater rights over land.
Curriculum vitae
1955 Born in London
1973–76 Bachelor of Science (Hons) in biology, University of Exeter
1981–84 Honorary secretary, Dartmoor Preservation Association
1984–present General secretary, Open Spaces Society
1995–98 Chairman, Ramblers Association
1995–present President, Dartmoor Preservation Society
1996–2006 Board member, Countryside Agency
2003–present Chairman, Campaign for National Parks
2003 Reopens blocked ‘Hoogstraten’ footpath after a five-year battle
2006–09 Chairman, Ramblers Association
To learn more about the Open Spaces Society, visit www.oss.org.uk
June 2009
