Access to Nature:
A Dartmoor Research Project
Image Credit: Pat Kinsella
About the Project
The Background
Dartmoor National Park has historically held a unique position as the only area in England where the public has maintained a right to camp overnight outside of specified campsites.
In January 2023, a high court ruling resolved that this right to wild camp was in fact a misinterpretation of the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985, following a case brought by the owner of the Blachford Estate in Dartmoor. In the wake of the ruling, more than 3000 people gathered at Stall Moor to protest the decision, forming one of the largest countryside access protests in English history. Wild camping is currently still allowed within the national park on a permissive basis, following the consent of land owners.
The Aims
The aim of the project is to investigate the motivations of the protestors; what are their perceived barriers to access, how does the ruling change the experience of accessing nature and what does this access to nature mean to them.
Why are we interested?
The scale of the protest in Dartmoor shows how access to the outdoors is an increasingly important issue for people in the UK. We hope this research will contribute to a broader discussion about how we should access nature and who should decide what that access looks like.
Image Credit: Achievable Adventure
Participating
To explore the conflict we want to get in contact with people that have a connection to the Dartmoor access protests. This can be as an activist (a participant of the Dartmoor protest or an active member of the Right to Roam movement) or a resident of the area impacted.
We will conduct interviews lasting approximately 1 hour. The audio will be recorded and the interviewer will make notes. They will be conducted online or in person, at a location the participant feels most comfortable. If applicable, we would also be interested in discussing any photos that you feel represent a certain aspect of your connection to Dartmoor.
The identities of the interviewees will remain anonymous and audio recordings of the interviews deleted once the project is complete. We require your name simply for use to differentiate between participants, but this will not be publicised. If you have any concerns about the privacy of your contribution please do email for further information. Participants must be over 18 years old.
To get in touch please fill out the form below or send an email to gb590@exeter.ac.uk
