Anniversary and Celebrations

50th ANNIVERSARY: WHY AND HOW IT HAPPENED

 A SUMMARY/INTRODUCTION.

As far as we can establish the 1932 mass trespass was not publicly celebrated until the 50th anniversary in April 1982. We are fortunate to have acquired a detailed account of how that event came about, written in 2021 by Julian Batsleer who was heavily involved in the planning of that 1982 anniversary.

Since 1982 the practice of regular anniversary celebrations has become established. The next was in 1992 (60th); then 2002 (70th); 2007 (75th); 2012 (80th). Since 2012 there has been an annual celebration on the nearest weekend to 24th April, called “Spirit of Kinder”, organised by Kinder and High Peak Advisory Group, in a variety of locations from Sheffield to Manchester, including Edale, New Mills, Castleton and Hayfield itself. Since 2016 there has also been an annual celebration in Hayfield, arranged by Hayfield Kinder Trespass Group. Accounts of these events can be found lower down this section, after the article about the 50th.

Below is a short extract from Julian’s article about how the 50th anniversary was planned.

“The central organiser and co-ordinator was an energetic, retired Benny Rothman. Being an experienced trade union and political organiser, he deftly wove together a wide range of individuals and groups to do all the work that was necessary to make such an event happen. He managed to involve prominent and established figures in the outdoor movement, alongside an enthusiastic group of young activist climbers and walkers drawn primarily from an array of radical political groups.

What was put together was an event which spoke to the traditions of the outdoor access movement more widely and celebrated achievements such as the Peak District National Park; at the same time it was up-front about the political resonances of the Mass Trespass in both 1932 and 1982. Mixed in with the celebration of the Trespass and access gains generally was a clear campaigning element of “unfinished business”. It is also important to note that, in the conception and planning of the event, Benny Rothman deliberately sought to involve representatives from the organisations which had vilified the trespass in 1932 and had kept their distance from Benny and anything to do with the trespass ever since. So, for instance, Don Lee of Peak and Northern Footpaths Society became a central figure. As were people from the RA – nationally and in Sheffield (see below).”

 Julian Batsleer, written in 2021. 

Read or download the full article here (PDF)

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‘Spirit of Kinder’ Trespass Anniversary: April 2016 Hayfield

If the walkers on the 1932 Mass Trespass on Kinder Scout took the same action today, they would probably be labelled as extremists, and ‘kettled’ before they got out of the car park.

Carey Davies

That was the view of Carey Davies, the British Mountaineering Council’s Hill Walking Development Officer, speaking at the fourth annual Spirit of Kinder event held at The Royal Hotel, Hayfield on Saturday (April 23).

The event was organised jointly by the Kinder Visitor Centre Group and the Kinder & High Peak Advisory Committee. A highlight was the moving readings by pupils from New Mills College and Hayfield Primary School, describing their feelings of freedom after a walk on Kinder.

Dave Toft of the KVCG outlined the story and background to the trespass, and claimed that Kinder Scout and access to its moors was the childrens’ birthright. “But according to figures from Natural England, only 8.7 per cent of the country still has free access. So as Benny Rothman would say, our work is not complete.”

Carey Davies explained that the longing for a vision of the land, “for a sense of space and a sense of place,” was universal, describing a recent walk he took through war-torn Palestine.

He added: “With the benefit of hindsight, the Kinder Trespass has now become heritage; an act which mainstream politicians and respectable organisations now feel comfortable endorsing.

“But let’s take a closer look at it. There were 400 young people, many of them unemployed, led by people from ethnic and religious minorities, all following a radical ideology. We shouldn’t lose sight of just how challenging and provocative it was.” 

There were still barriers of access, social background, ethnicity, gender, mental illness or disability which prevented many people in this country from knowing the lasting satisfaction of a long walk or a hard climb. He said the BMC was working in partnership with other organisations to try and do what it could to help people overcome these barriers, and crowdfunding campaigns like the BMC’s Mend Our Mountains were repairing badly-eroded paths, such as that below Ringing Roger on Kinder.

“Too many people live lives without landscape, in nondescript and forgotten places which foster a sense of marginalisation and contempt,” said Carey. “Access to the outdoors has to be seen as part of a social whole. I believe the Kinder Trespassers understood this well. Their struggle was always part of a struggle for something bigger.”

Philip Pearson, former Senior Policy Officer at the TUC, and a keen hillwalker, spoke about Benny Rothman’s work as a trade union organiser, in addition to his being the leader of the Kinder trespass.

He said that the environment and climate change were major issues for trade unions today, which he felt Benny would have well understood, and he outlined was unions were doing about it. He added that a local pupil had written: “Freedom means everything to me – it allows me to be the person I am.” Philip said: “This said everything about Benny Rothman, the leader of the trespass.”

Mark Metcalf, author of a new biography of Rothman, explained that Rothman’s four months imprisonment was not wasted, because while he was there he learnt shorthand, which stood him in good stead in his future life as a union negotiator.

Musical interludes were provided by respected folk singer Brian Peters, who led the traditional final singing of Ewan MacColl’s Manchester Rambler.

Jan Gillett, son of one of the imprisoned trespassers and 86-year-old Alan Edwards of Stockport, who as a two-year-old had been carried there by his elder sister, unveiled a commemorative plaque which will eventually form part of a Trespass Trail. Exhibitions of work by local children and local artist Sarah Morley were held in the Village Hall. On Sunday (April 24) walks were led on the trespass route.

Among the organisations attending the event were the Ramblers; Sheffield Campaign for Access to Moorland; British Mountaineering Council; the National Trust; Hayfield Civic Trust; Sustainable Hayfield; the Kinder Mountain Rescue team and Friends of the Peak District (CPRE).
hours.

‘Spirit of Kinder Day’ 2015

KINDER AND HIGH PEAK ADVISORY COMMITTEE

ERODING THE IDEA OF TRESPASS

English ramblers were encouraged to start “a steady erosion of the concept of trespass in the countryside” at the third annual Spirit of Kinder Day at Edale on Saturday (April 25).

Dave Morris, former director of Ramblers Scotland, suggested that if walkers wanted to see the benefits of Scottish access legislation in the English countryside, they should start stepping off rights of way.

“It applies whether you are walking, cycling, horseriding, skiing, birdwatching, botanising, star-gazing or doing whatever non-motorised activity appears to be appropriate,” said Dave. “As long as you take responsibility for your own actions, respect the interests of other people, and care for the environment, you will eventually demolish the concept of trespass.”

The second action which he proposed was the production of an English version of the proven Scottish Outdoor Access Code, which had been in effect since the passing of the Scottish Land Reform Act in 2003.

He added: “We currently have the absurd situation where in Scotland, I can walk down the edge of a field, along a tramline made by a tractor, or along the bare ground between vegetable crops, and know that I am complying with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and have the statutory right to do so. 

“Suppose, however, that halfway across the field I cross the Border into England. Suddenly many will claim that the landowner can accuse me of being a ‘trespasser’, order me to leave the field and use so-called ‘reasonable force’ to compel me to do so.

“How is it,” asked Dave, “that I am apparently doing no damage to the crop north of the Border but appear to be creating havoc with the same crop in the same field when I step into England?”

The Spirit of Kinder event, organised by the Kinder & High Peak Advisory Committee (KHPAC) at Edale Village Hall, also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Pennine Way, which starts in Edale. 

Other keynote speakers were Chris Townsend, the British Mountaineering Council’s first-ever hill-walking ambassador; Chris Sainty, chairman of the Pennine Way Association, who reflected on the PW from its origins to its inception, and Ann Beedham, Sheffield author and illustrator, who gave an illustrated talk on walking, and trespassing, in the Peak in the 1920s, based on the words and photographs of George Willis Marshall. 

A lively open forum on future access provision and the Scottish model was led by Chris Townsend, Dave Morris and Chris Sainty, before young members of Sheffield’s Woodcraft Folk, led by Kat Budd, closed proceedings with the traditional singing of Ewan MacColl’s Manchester Rambler. 

Plans are already being formulated for next year’s event to be held in Hayfield, the starting point of the Mass Trespass in 1932.

‘Spirit of Kinder’ Day 2014

On Saturday 26th April 2014 we attended the Spirit of Kinder Day in Sheffield Town Hall.

 COUNTRYSIDE ‘NOT A LUXURY’

Open country, green spaces and public paths are not a luxury but a vital need, claimed Kate Ashbrook, president of the Ramblers and general secretary of the Open Spaces Society at the annual Spirit of Kinder Day on Saturday (April 26).

“The governments of England and Wales are attacking our green spaces, making it almost impossible for local people to register them as town or village greens to secure their rights to enjoy them,” said Kate, speaking to an audience of 200 at Sheffield Town Hall.

“The cuts in local authority funding and the obsession with development mean that budgets for maintaining, creating and recording public paths have been slashed. The national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty have to make do with ever-shrinking funds to protect our top landscapes.

“It’s time that the government recognised that these places contribute massively to our health and well-being, as well as bringing income to the rural economy. We are not a fringe group, we are mainstream. We change lives and we save lives.”

Kate added: “We must reignite the campaigning zeal of the Kinder trespassers.  Times are tough for countryside campaigners, but the spirit of Kinder will carry us through. The Kinder trespassers and those before them changed the world.  We can too, as we follow in their footsteps.”

Other speakers included John Mothersole, chief executive of Sheffield City Council, who explained that a third of the city was within the Peak District National Park, and half of its area was moorland. “So the spirit of Sheffield and the spirit of Kinder is very much the same thing. The trespass was a national scene-changer, and a lot of it started in Sheffield.”

And he echoed Kate’s view that for Sheffield, in its role as “the city of outdoor adventure”, meant both income for the city and jobs for its citizens. “We are not re-kindling the flame of the trespass here today – it is still alive and never went out in Sheffield.”

Two teenage members of the Sheffield Woodcraft Folk, Felix James and Angus Bruce, and their leader Kat Budd read first-hand accounts of the “forgotten” Abbey Brook trespass in which 200 members took part five months after the more publicised Kinder Scout trespass in 1932.

Other speakers included archaeologist Bill Bevan, who described Mesolithic hunters’ “killing grounds” on the watershed between William Clough (the 1932 trespass route onto Kinder Scout) and River Ashop, where large collections of flints have been found. Annabelle Kennedy of the Sheffield Wildlife Trust, outlined the pioneering work of the Sheffield Moors Partnership, which she described as “the UK’s leading model” on the way uplands should be managed in the future.

There were also displays by the Ramblers; the Sheffield Campaign for Access to Moorland; the British Mountaineering Council; the National Trust; the Kinder Visitor Centre Group and the Sheffield Moors Partnership.

The event was rounded off by the traditional singing of Ewan MacColl’s Manchester Rambler, led by Neil Schofield.

For more details and further information, contact Roly Smith on 01629 812034 (roly.smith@btconnect.com) or Terry Howard on 0114 266 5438 or (tmhoward@live.co.uk).

Kinder 81: THE SPIRIT OF KINDER, 2013 

SPIRIT OF KINDER LIVES ON

The first in what is hoped will be an annual celebration of Kinder Scout and the Mass Trespass was held at New Mills Town Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2013.

The occasion marked the launch of a Friends of Kinder Trespass scheme by the Kinder Visitor Centre Group, of Hayfield, which has long-term plans for a trespass visitor centre in Hayfield.
 
The Kinder & High Peak Advisory Group decided that such was the enthusiasm engendered by the 80th anniversary celebrations last year,  the event should become annual to keep the Spirit of Kinder and the trespass alive.

The main speaker at New Mills was the Ramblers president and Open Spaces Society secretary Kate Ashbrook. Keith Warrender, publisher of The Battle for Kinder Scout book, gave an illustrated talk on the history of the trespass and Jon Stewart, manager of the National Trust’s Peak District estate which includes Kinder Scout, reflected on the Trust’s 30 years of ownership of the iconic mountain.

Among the organisations attending are the Ramblers (National, Sheffield and Manchester); Sheffield Campaign for Access to Moorland; Peak & Northern Footpath Society; British Mountaineering Council; the National Trust;  Peak District National Park Authoity; Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation; Moors for the Future, Friends of the Peak District (CPRE) and Mosaic community champions.
 

Benny Rothman Blue Plaque – 24th October 2012

On 24th October 2012, a blue plaque was unveiled in honour of Benny Rothman, who was fondly remembered as a life-long campaigner, a rambler, a father and a friend. Benny Rothman was the leader of the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in 1932

It was in 2000 that the Countryside and Rights of Way Act was finally enshrined in law allowing the right to roam which Benny fought so hard for. The plaque in honour of Benny was unveiled at his home of 58 years on Crofton Avenue, Timperley, where he continued to campaign.
 
M.E.N. columnist Roly Smith, who knew Benny for 20 years said: “He was always fighting for more rights of access. He even fought to keep the right of way alongside his house, and he won that one too. He was a tremendous campaigner. It is very fitting to remember someone who did so much for so many people. The freedom that we have got is all down to Benny.
 
“I once went for a walk with him on the trespass route. He was in his 70s at the time but he still walked like a train, I couldn’t keep up. I loved him, a lot of people did.”
 
Timperley residents and ramblers gathered at the special ceremony and spoke of Benny’s achievements.
 
Jerry Pearlman, of the Ramblers Association, said: “For so many years Benny Rothman has been an utter hero to me.”
 
“He caused me to get interested in the access movement. One of the proudest moments of my life was to find out I was on a ramble with his son.”
 
The plaque in memory of Benny was unveiled by his children, Professor Harry Rothman and Marion Thilo.
 
Professor Rothman recalled fond memories of his childhood at the house. He said: “I think people along this street would remember Benny most for his ability to shout to me to come home for my dinner. Like father like son, I did tend to wander off.
 
“We’re tremendously proud and delighted that this plaque has been offered as a tribute to him by Trafford Council.”
 
Mrs Thilo remembered her father as a quirky man. She said: “When everyone else went to church in their Sunday best our father was taking us out into the countryside in our walking gear.
 
My father was very modest about his work with the outdoor movement. He would have said: ‘I haven’t done this on my own”
 
Cllr. Jonathan Coupe, of Trafford council, said: “We are so very proud that this plaque will be unveiled here in Timperley. To have such a plaque in your name means you have made a big impression on society. It’s because of Mr Rothman that we are able to enjoy our countryside as freely as we can today.”

Kinder 80: Trespass to Treasure

The 80th anniversary of the Mass Kinder Trespass took place in 2012. During the anniversary week nearly 30 walks, talks and other events took place in and around the Peak District.

The Kinder 80 Festival was launched by author and broadcaster Stuart Maconie at the Moorland Centre, Edale, on Tuesday, April 24. Other speakers included BBC Radio 2’s Mike Harding; Dame Fiona Reynolds, Director General of the National Trust, and Kate Ashbrook, secretary of the Open Spaces Society and vice-president of the Ramblers. 

The 1932 Mass Trespass, after which five ramblers were imprisoned for exercising their right to walk on the moors, has been called the most significant event in the century-old battle for the Right to Roam. It was an iconic event not only for freedom to roam legislation, finally achieved by the CROW Act of 2000, but for the creation of our National Parks, of which the Peak District was the first in 1951. 

Chairman of the Kinder 80 committee Roly Smith commented: “The Trespass anniversary has become an important date in the outdoor calendar, and many people believe that the sacrifice made 80 years ago by these ramblers should never be forgotten. But we also want to look forward to what has been achieved on Kinder since then.”

A sub-committee of the Kinder and High Peak Advisory Committee, representing the Peak District National Park Authority; Derbyshire County Council; the National Trust, the Ramblers, the British Mountaineering Council and the Sheffield Campaign for Access to Moorland, organised the week of activities. 

A revised and updated version of leader Benny Rothman’s book on the trespass, published by Willow Publishing, was launched at the event on April 24. 

To see what the 80th Anniversay week had to offer take a look at the event programme where you will also find the words to the Manchester Rambler:

80th Anniversary Launch Event

Stuart praised the actions of Benny Rothman and his fellow trespassers of 80 years ago, claiming that the event – which resulted in the imprisonment of five ramblers – originated from the long-standing tradition of dissent and idealism which existed in the rambling movement.

Stuart echoed the same point about the importance of telling young people about the trespass made by Dame Fiona Reynolds, director-general of the National Trust. Addressing the children of Edale and Hayfield Primary Schools, who had produced artwork commemorating the event, she said: “You are the most important people here today.

“It is sobering to think that, unlike you, one in five children in this country don’t get the chance to go out into the countryside. We are paying tribute today to the iconic event of 80 years ago which gave us places like Kinder Scout where we can all enjoy the freedom of the hills.”

Kate Ashbrook, newly-elected president of the Ramblers’ Association and general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, told the audience: “We must keep the Kinder trespassers’ torch aflame. We cannot be complacent. The threats which the trespassers fought are still very much with us, but in a different guise. We live in uncertain times, when finance comes before freedom.”

The launch ended with the singing of the traditional walkers’ anthem, Ewan MacColl’s Manchester Rambler, led by compère BBC Radio 2’s Mike Harding and the Chapel-en-le-Frith Male Voice choir, complete in uniform – and walking boots. “The best backing group I’ve ever had!” quipped Mike.

Star of the show was surviving mass trespasser 96-year-old George Haigh, formerly of Stockport, who travelled up from his home in Oxfordshire to be present. “It’s wonderful people are remembering what we did,” he said. “The right to get out and be in the countryside is as important today as it was back then.”

Also present were two children of the jailed ramblers on the 1932 trespass. Harry Rothman is the son of the trespass leader Benny Rothman, who received four months’ imprisonment, and Jan Gillett, son of the then-student Tona Gillett, who was imprisoned for two months.

Chairman of the Kinder 80 committee Roly Smith commented: “I was delighted that our speakers put the emphasis on young people. There is still much to be done in achieving the right to walk in places like our English coastline and in our forests.

“Benny Rothman and his pals would not be resting on our laurels now we have the right to roam in open country. We should have the same rights as those enjoyed in Scotland the rest of the Europe.”

Red Pepper Article

You can read a Kinder Trespass 80th Anniversary article from Red Pepper here.

Please note: the URL (web address) for this website, quoted at the end of the article, has been updated since the article was originally published.

75th Anniversary Events

The Mass Trespass on Kinder Scout 75 years ago has been described as the most significant event in the century-old battle for the Right to Roam on Britain’s mountains and moors, a right now enshrined in the 2000 Countryside and Rights of Way Act.

Trespassers are Celebrated

Mr Miliband’s speech was the keynote of a celebration day of speeches, songs and stories centred on New Mills Town Hall, when about 300 ramblers from all over the country gathered to celebrate the anniversary.

Earlier in the day, Mr Miliband had named a Northern Rail train after Benny Rothman, the Manchester rambler who led the Mass Trespass in 1932. Assisting him in the ceremony at Manchester’s Piccadilly Station was Benny’s son, Harry, and two of his great grandchildren, Harvey and Isabella.

Speakers

Music, Drama, Walks and Exhibitions

Sally Goldsmith sang her song ‘Trespassers Will Be Celebrated’ composed for the 70th anniversary. There was a ‘work-in-progress’ performance of a new community play, On Common Ground, about the trespass, prior to a full performance later in the summer. The event concluded with a rousing rendition of Ewan MacColl’s famous access anthem, The Manchester Rambler.

Throughout the weekend, guided walks led by National Park, Derbyshire County Council and National Trust rangers took many hundreds of walkers along part of the 14-mile Trespass Trail – including a 101-year-old lady who had travelled up from London for the event.

Exhibitions and displays were on show at the Town Hall, Heritage Centre and Central Station.

75th Anniversary Speakers

Introduced by MC Mike Harding, six notable speakers presented their perspective on the 1932 Kinder Trespass and the way forward for building on the legacy:

• Martin Doughty – Chair of Natural England and ‘host’ of the event
• David Miliband – Secretary of State for the Environment
• Tony Hams – Chair of the Peak District National Park Authority
• Roy Hattersley – President of Friends of the Peak District
• Kate Ashbrook – Chair of Ramblers’ Association
• Jim Perrin – writer, access activist and friend of Benny Rothman

Train Naming by Minister David Miliband

Community Play – ‘On Common Ground’

High Peak Community Arts  celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Kinder Trespass with an original community play ‘On Common Ground’ created and presented by local people. On Common Ground is a celebration of the struggle of ordinary people to gain access to the countryside we take for granted.

Using music, multimedia and jump-cuts through time and space, the performance – devised with the New Mills community – explores the history of the struggle and takes us into a future of imagined consequences.

Central to the show is the remarkable story of the Kinder Trespass, when a large group of young ramblers from Manchester and Sheffield defied police and local landowners to roam across the High Peaks of Derbyshire.

The play is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Their regional manager Emma Sale said: “This play will involve lots of people in the community and encourage them to reflect and celebrate a local event, which had such long term effects on the fabric of British life. The present public debate includes issues such as responsible access to land, management of the countryside and environmental sustainability. Such issues are at the cutting edge of green tourism and continuing access to heritage, and this play will has the potential to create thought-provoking and original ideas.” 

75th Exhibitions and Displays

Rambler’s Room – New Mills Heritage Centre

Commemorative Mural

The textile industry and cotton mils of Manchester and New Mills were dominant in the lives of many. The mural will weave modern and historical images with seams and threads of text and colour.

The mural can be seen in the waiting room at New Mills Central Station

Building on the Legacy – New Mills Town Hall

Displays by national, regional and local organisations concerned with “building on the legacy” – that is protecting and promoting responsible access to the countryside of the Mass Trespass and beyond.

The 75th event day exhibitors presented an opportunity to find out more about and get involved with the continuing campaigns and activities of bodies like the Peak District National Park Authority, the Ramblers Association, The National Trust, Derbyshire County Council Countryside Services, Sheffield Campaign for Access to Moorland, the British Mountaineering Council, Natural England, Moors for the Future, and Friends of the Peak District (Campaign to Protect Rural England).

Previous Anniversaries

A day of music and song at Bowden Bridge Quarry on Saturday 27 April 2002 celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Trespass. The main speaker was the Minister of State for the Environment, Michael Meacher MP. Celebrations were lead the by broadcaster, comedian and former Ramblers Association president Mike Harding. Other speakers included Sir Martin Doughty, then chairman of the Peak District National Park Authority and of English Nature, and Kate Ashbrook, chief executive of the Open Spaces Society and chair of the Ramblers Access Committee.