YOUNG JOURNALISTS ARE TAUGHT not to use the phrase "history was made", because it is a cliché. There are exceptions to every rule however and history was made in Scotland on 22 and 23 of January this year. The Scottish Executive, "the Scottish parliament", passed the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, which now becomes law, probably in 2004. Decisions by the Executive don't go to the House of Lords but straight into law once they get the Royal assent, a fitting scenario for a modern parliament.
The bill contains radical provisions for the sale and purchase of land which should, of course, become familiar to Friends of the Ochils members because they will help to shape the landscape we treasure; but it is the bill's land and water access provisions which will change the Scottish outdoor scene for years to come and which directly affect all FotO members.
In short, responsible freedom to roam in Scotland is now emphatically underpinned in law. It is a right, not a privilege or a boon condescendingly given by someone else. FotO members who have always argued that responsible freedom to roam was the true Scottish outdoor tradition have now been legally vindicated. Our own statement on access, produced over ten years ago in the early days of FotO, has proven to be wise and timely.
Some supporters of the new legislation have spoken of creating a right of access. Many of us have always believed this existed, even though lawyers differed about its status. That particular dispute has now been resolved. The law of Scotland will now say that the public has a right to outdoor water and land access.
But what of the needs of those who earn their living from the land? What of house privacy, growing crops, farm stock or deer stalking? How are these apparently conflicting needs to be resolved? An Access Code will accompany the new legislation and this is currently being prepared by Scottish Natural Heritage and the Access Forum, a body drawn from outdoor and countryside organisations. There will be public discussion on this all-important code. Local meetings will be held and the code will probably be introduced by early 2004. There will eventually be local access forums for access issues.
FotO members have a crucial role to play here, to ensure the code does not weaken the legislation in any way and that the public is made truly aware of its rights, which now have the force of law behind them. It is essential, too, that FotO promotes countryside education.
There were heart-stirring scenes in the Scottish Executive and at a reception organised by Scottish Environmental Link in Edinburgh City Chambers. I saw people literally weeping with joy at such a momentous decision, particularly when it might have gone wrong several times over the months. The greatest credit should go to Dave Morris, director of the Ramblers' Association Scotland, to Mike Dales, access and conservation officer of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, to the office-bearers of Scottish Environmental Link for their hours of negotiation, study and debate, and to individuals such as Alan Blackshaw, internationally known mountaineer, conservationist and lawyer, who out-argued lawyers produced by people who endeavoured to persuade SNH that freedom to roam had no legal validity.
Daft (and rejected) suggestions by some landowners and other would-be curtailers of access included seeking to give local authorities the power to order people off the hills before dark. Who would have thought that "roaming in the gloaming" might have been declared an offence in Scotland?
Make no mistake about it, the forces of sense and light have triumphed in Scotland. The Scottish Executive has only limited, devolved powers, but - thank God - landownership and land management come within these powers. The decision ollows on another which also does not go to the horse'n'hounds House of Lords - that fox-hunting is to be banned in law in Scotland.
Details of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill include confirmation that mountain guides, outdoor centres, photographers, guidebook writers and field trips are within access rights, while large events such as raves and T in the Park are, rightly, outwith. Ministers can change details of the bill, but this can only happen after wide consultation and Scottish parliamentary approval.
Land linked to access rights can involve privacy issues of houses and farms, and it is expected that these problems will be solved locally or by "loops". Pheasant woods and grouse moors are expected to be "open" to the public outwith specified shooting times and with due regard for management needs. Growing crops are "closed", while field margins are "open". Access bans are confined to court orders, hunting, shooting or fishing (subject to consultation over timings and areas), out-of-control dogs and motorised access. Local authorities have been given new powers to assert access rights.
An important point is the current consultation between hillwalkers and estates over walking and climbing routes at red deer shooting times There is no element of "asking permission", but a bid to co-exist. Attempts by some estates to put the stag and hind shooting dates together in an effort to try and "close" hills from July to February are now obsolete. It is expected that discussion on these points will be a crucial area of the Access Code.
It is inevitable that there will be teething troubles and mavericks until time makes the legal position clear to all.
There is not space here to give all details. The Ramblers' Association Scotland provides excellent briefing papers - contact them at Kingfisher House, Auld Mart Business Park, Milnathort, Kinross, KY13 9DA, 01577 861222, enquiries@scotland. ramblers.org.uk
It is obviously extremely important that FotO members be au fait with the new legislation and the Access Code. We must not become complacent and we must, of course, exercise our legally protected right sensibly and with sensitivity to the needs of others. A lot of us have worked very hard to bring about this legal change and some tears and some gloating are understandable.
A key point for our own area will be the quality of low-level footpaths. Some local- authority signposted paths are very poor and one or two are ludicrous. A footpath sign on a minor road which also has car traffic is not a footpath at all. To mark the start or finish of a footpath walk at the side of a busy road with no place to park and with a need to dodge traffic to get to the start is fatuous. A set of poor walking corridors is not opening up access. Vigilance will be needed on this one.
We are at the start of a new chapter in the outdoor access life of Scotland, a chapter with long roots and which, in a very real sense, makes countryside stewards of us all.
The 70pp draft consultation version of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code has now been published by Scottish Natural Heritage and is available from the Publications Section, SNH, Battleby, Redgorton, Perth PH1 3EW, 01738 444177, pubs@snh.gov.uk
Responses to the consultation are required no later than 30 June 2003 and should be sent to Bridget Dales, Recreation and Access Group, Scottish Natural Heritage, Battleby, Redgorton, Perth PH1 3EW, soac-consultation@snh.gov.uk
The Clackmannanshire Interim Access Forum will also be discussing the draft code at their next meeting on 28 April 2003. This will be held at 2pm in the Speirs Centre, 29 Primrose St, Alloa, and anyone interested in attending should contact John Duffy: 01259 452523, jduffy@clacks.gov.uk