A radical group of ramblers roams the British countryside
A summer of genteel protest is under way
“This is not a Marxist revolution,” Nick Hayes tells the 100 people assembled in a wooded clearing near Pangbourne, a Berkshire village. Some look disappointed. “Necessarily,” adds Mr Hayes, with timing that makes the crowd laugh. He is the de facto leader of Right to Roam, a protest group that thinks the countryside should be open to all. The group then treks through a forest before they reach an estate they should not enter, and cross a trampled wire fence for a picnic. “It’s mental that this is illegal,” says a protester. “It’s just so quintessentially British.”
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Forgive us our trespasses”
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