Mass trespass of Kinder Scout

As Mass trespass of Kinder Scout unauthorized entry into the mountain plateau Kinder Scout by numerous hikers on April 24, 1932 known. The mass migration away from public roads was an act of resistance against the restrictive easements in the United Kingdom.

Prehistory

In England and Wales no general right of access, but a network of public rights of way, which holds in addition to the roads connecting opportunities for hikers and cyclists and horse riders (for example, public footpaths and bridleways public ) exists. This network has evolved over centuries, but allows entering further areas of England and Wales only the landowners.

In 1865 the Commons Preservation Society (now the Open Spaces Society) founded with the goal of opening of roads, parks and forests for the public, including early Regent 's Park, Kew Gardens and Hampton Court Park. However, their success did not meet the expectations of the hiking clubs that had formed in the late 19th and reinforced at the beginning of the 20th century and a right to roam ( the right - on private land - to hike ) along the lines of Every man law demanded. Mostly representatives of the working class and the growing number of unemployed were congregated in them. It is estimated that in 1932 about 15,000 workers went from Manchester every Sunday hike.

The Peak District, an upland, reaching its highest point in the mountain Kinder Scout at 636 meters, is located between the metropolitan areas of Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield and was a destination for hiking groups from these cities. However, of the 600 km ² area were less than 5 km ², less than 1%, be used publicly on twelve different ways, so many hikers were traveling on these routes. A leave the trails led to conflicts with the gamekeepers of the landowners. A demand for migrant associations was to open a path to Kinder Scout, whenever the land was not used. Due to poor soils of the Peak District was mainly used for hunting in the area around Kinder Scout only about a dozen days a year.

The hike

The Lancashire Section of the British Workers' Sports Federation ( GVA ), founded in 1928 on the organization of football games and the construction of new sports fields, called 1932 its mostly the Communist Party 's members on to wander in a large group to Kinder Scout, after it Easter had reproduced incidents with gamekeepers and had also shown no progress in the talks of the official hiking Association, the GVA was not a member, go to the right to roam. So closed on Sunday, April 24, more than 400 walkers above the village of Hayfield in the west of the children's Scouts, " The Internationale" singing going on. Still halfway to the mountain, there was a scuffle with eight gamekeepers of the Duke of Devonshire, in which a gamekeeper was injured ankle. After the hiking group moved on and met on the mountain on a group that had come from the east side of the mountain.

On the way back, the group was stopped from Manchester back in the valley of the police and wildlife officers. Five hikers were arrested for breach of the peace, a sixth had been arrested before. Of the six arrested, including the communist activist Benny Rothman (1911-2002), there were four workers, an unemployed and a student. Because violence against the gamekeepers five of the six arrested were sentenced to a prison term of two to six months.

Effects

Hiking clubs, who belonged to the official hiking association, distanced themselves from the action of GVA because their understanding is to be respected by the right of way, and sentenced her sharp. The sentencing of hikers led the other to a wave of public sympathy with the objectives of migrant movement.

This led to the 1949 adopted the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, which had the creation of national parks and public access to the target. When the Peak District was declared in 1951 the first national park in England, a year later also released the access to Kinder Scout, along with about 60 % of the Peak District. On 30 November 2000 finally joined the Countryside and Rights of Way Act into force, which allows the right to roam in many up-country and other unused areas of England and Wales.

On the 50th anniversary of the events, a memorial plaque at the starting point of the hike by Benny Rothman was inaugurated in 1982, published on the 60th anniversary of the Chair of the Association of hiking a play to do so. Ewan MacColl and the group Chumbawamba wrote a song about each of the processes. The 22 -kilometer " Trespass Trail " follows the old trail.