Climbing Kinder Scout

Neil McAllister follows in the footsteps of the rowdy ramblers who helped secure the right to roam for generations of walkers.

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PRIOR to April 1932, towndwellers seeking fresh air and exercise were limited in where they could walk.

Despite being surrounded by empty countryside and moorland, Mancunians looking to escape from mills and industry had their horizons limited by restrictive land ownership rules.

Unsurprisingly, many found this unfair, especially members of the British Workers' Sports Federation, who in this inter-war period were keen to put society on to a more equal path.

One route in their sights was that up Kinder Scout, the steep-sided gritstone plateau that forms the northern boundary of today's Peak District National Park.

This natural barrier separates the pretty Derbyshire village of Edale to the south, industrial Hyde and Manchester to the west, the Yorkshire Moors towards Holmfirth to the north and Sheffield to the east.

This moor was the preserve of shooting estates, off-limits to all but the moneyed class for grouse shooting.

It is easy to see why the red-flag wavers were far from happy! On the morning of April 24, an event took place in a quarry near Hayfield on the Manchester side which has passed into nearlegendary status, opening up our countryside to weekend walkers and serious ramblers.

"The Times" suggested that 100 people attended the event.

"The Manchester Guardian" reported 400.

Some people involved remembered around 600, whilst "Dirty Old Town" songwriter Ewan McColl said 3,000 took part in what became the first mass trespass aimed at removing access restrictions.

These pioneering lawbreakers, who faced the wrath of shotgun-toting gamekeepers and ruddy faced landowners, set in motion a process which led to National Park legislation in 1949.