The “right to roam” is the concept that every individual has a right to walk through open country. In general, this means being able to access privately owned land and undeveloped wilderness areas for recreational purposes. Of course there are certain exclusions and protections for landowners, depending on the laws and customs of each country. For instance, most, if not all, countries restrict the general public from walking in close proximity to homes, or through the cultivated fields of farmers. For the most part, the right to roam has never really been an issue for hikers in the United States. However, individuals have been restricted as to where they can walk in much of Europe. With the exceptions of Scandinavia and a few other northern European countries, much of Europe developed out of feudalism, which meant that vast swaths of land were owned by the nobility classes. As the Industrial Revolution took root, especially in England, workers living in large cities began seeking the countryside to gain relief from pollution and congested urban centers. In response to what they saw as trespassing, wealthy land barons began fencing people out. In 1604, the British Parliament passed the first in a series of laws that would become known as the Enclosure Acts. By 1914, they had enacted more than 5200 enclosure laws that effectively closed off 6.8 million acres, or roughly one-fifth of England’s total landmass, thus making it illegal for the general public to walk across areas that were previously considered common lands. Exacerbating the situation, large publicly owned spaces were extremely rare throughout much of Europe, especially in Great Britain. By 1900, American hikers had access to tens of millions of acres in national parks and forests. On the contrary, the first national park in Great Britain wasn’t established until 1951. France designated its first national park in 1963, Germany in 1970, while Austria didn't establish its first national park until 1981.
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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.
