The postwar revolution that altered the English countryside
On 11 May, BBC East marked VE Day: First Days of Peace with a programme on the postwar revolution that altered the English countryside into a landscape that could not only feed the nation but also be seen as a place of leisure. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, spoke to Ben Robinson and you can…
Read MoreAccessing Nature funding programme
This summer SITA Trust will launch its new Accessing Nature programme which will fund capital works to increase and improve opportunities for access to the great outdoors. They will be accepting England-wide applications for a range of projects including, but not limited to: providing access to nature reserves and wildlife areas, creating community pond-dipping areas…
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The commons’ people
This article by our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, was published in the spring 2015 issue of the Campaign to Protect Rural England‘s magazine Countryside Voice. The name ‘common’ is scattered all over maps of England. But that does not mean the land is common today—rather the word is a memento from a time when much of…
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Happy birthday Pennine Way
Fifty years ago today, on 24 April 1965, the Pennine Way was opened. This was the first of Britain’s long-distance paths (now called national trails in England and Wales) and the event took place on Malham Moor with the Minister of Land and Natural Resources, Fred Willey, in attendance. The path was the inspiration of…
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Law denied
While researching our 150-year history, I have been struck repeatedly by the number of times we have taken or backed court action. So writes our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, in her Opinion in the latest edition of our magazine Open Space. Indeed, had we not gone to the courts to assert the rights of commoners and to…
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We celebrate our 150-year struggle for open spaces
We have published our new book, Saving Open Spaces, the story of our 150-year struggle for commons, greens, open spaces and paths. It is written by our general secretary for 31 years, Kate Ashbrook. The society was formed in 1865 as the Commons Preservation Society to rescue London’s threatened commons—Hampstead Heath, Wimbledon Common and Epping…
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Our 150th anniversary
2015 marks 150 years of the Open Spaces Society – Britain’s oldest national conservation body – and we invite you to help us celebrate this special year. Follow our 150th anniversary tweet-of-the-day Every day we are posting a tweet and message on Facebook with the hashtag #saveopenspaces150 to celebrate an achievement in our 150-year history. They are listed by…
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Our 150th birthday
This year, 2015, we celebrate our 150th anniversary—the first national conservation body to do so. Founded on 19 July 1865 as the Commons Preservation Society we first saved London commons from destruction and 30 years later created the National Trust—and we are still fighting. Now the society campaigns throughout England and Wales to protect common…
Read MoreLandscapes for everyone
Great Britain’s diverse landscapes need champions. A consortium of national organisations has taken up the challenge. We have a shared vision of why our unique British landscapes should be protected for the benefit of current and future generations and what Government action is needed. Read more here. The official launch of ‘Landscapes for everyone’ will…
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Firle Estate – tax free and for what?
The Firle Estate, near Lewes in East Sussex contains some of the most iconic walking landscape in the country, including the Firle Beacon stretch of the South Downs Way. So it might not surprise you to learn that the Estate has obtained exemption from inheritance tax (2) on nearly all the estate (3) in return…
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