Dereham, Norfolk, becomes a Walkers Are Welcome town.

We have congratulated the people of Dereham in Norfolk on achieving the status of a Walkers Are Welcome town. Dereham has joined the family of over 100 towns in England, Scotland and Wales which give an overt welcome to walkers and display the Walkers Are Welcome logo, showing that businesses are pleased to see walkers…

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A big welcome to West Yorkshire

On Saturday 25 June a new long-distance path, the Welcome Way, will be opened in Otley, West Yorkshire.  The 28-mile circular walk is unique because it was created through the collaborative effort of three West Yorkshire Walkers Are Welcome towns: Otley, Burley-in-Wharfedale and Baildon, linking all three.  There is an additional nine-mile loop taking in…

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Space invaders

Public funding is being cut and our green spaces exploited to fill the gap. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, considers the threat to our open spaces and national parks. In London, communities fight motor racing in Battersea Park, and festivals on Acton Green, Clapham Common and Finsbury Park—among countless battles. But we have a new…

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Learning to find our way

The society has established the Find Our Way fund, to support those who are investigating unrecorded historic ways with a view to applying for them to be added to the definitive maps of public rights of way.  This work is now urgent, as applications must be made before 1 January 2026 or the routes could…

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Threat to Clerkenwell Green, Islington

We have objected to Islington Council’s plans to mutilate Clerkenwell Green, by replacing the historic, underground, public conveniences with a café. The open space has traditionally been used for public assemblies.  The toilets, designed by George Jennings, are of considerable historic interest. The Open Spaces Society was founded 151 years ago initially to fight for…

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Moorside Fields, Lancaster are a village green

The High Court has ruled that Moorside Fields in south Lancaster are a village green. This means that they will be protected from development and can be enjoyed by the community by right for informal recreation. Local resident Janine Bebbington, acting for the Moorside Fields Community Group, applied to register five fields as a green…

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