This is a lecture walk, guided by Stephen Jones, in which we retrace the route of the Mass Trespass. Not heard of that? Well, it was a pivotal moment in the struggle for the Right to Roam. If we can enjoy free access across our Derbyshire moors today, the heroic deeds of Benny Rothman and his fellow trespassers are a key part of the story.
The young working-class lads and lasses in their hundreds from the mills of Lancashire and the West Riding defied the grouse-shooting toffs and their hired bullies in an well-publicised orchestrated mass trespass onto the forbidden plateau of Kinder; six were sent to prison, and the media storm they whipped up proved a game-changer which led 70 years later to the CROW Act. We tread their footsteps, meet the personalities in story and photograph, and finish the day on the plateau itself, which they never reached.
This historic event is central to all of us today who love the hills and the idea of open access. Come on this workshop, and you'll never take our rights for granted again.