New Rights to Walk on the Wild Side

Sunday 19 September 2004 was an important date for the Peak District National Park and everyone who enjoys the countryside. On this day around 250 sq km of private land was opened up for people to walk on - doubling the area of open access land in the National Park.

Places such as Snailsden Moor, Bradfield Moor and Axe Edge Moor, great expanses of moorland, that had been out of bounds for the outward bound for more than 100 years, is now accessible to people on foot.

Black Harry Trail

Access Restrictions

Access for the nation

The new rights of access to open country are granted thanks to an Act of Parliament that was passed in 2000 called the Countryside and Rights of Way Act.

Access land was opened up in stages throughout Britain and started in the Peak District on 19 September 2004.

Who is it for?

The new access is for anyone and everyone able to wander across the wilder, open spaces of Britain's mountains, moors, commons, heath and downland.

Where you can walk

The whole of the Peak District National Park falls within Natural England's Lower North West mapping area which includes parts of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, all of Greater Manchester and Cheshire, along with Merseyside, most of Lancashire, a small part of Cumbria, and part of North Yorkshire.

Search for current access restrictions
[external website]

View Natural England's outline map of the Lower North West area [external website]

Peak District National Park access land map (60KB)

 

More information