Monthly Archives: January 2013

On the brink of Cramber’s calamity

Posted on 31/01/2013 by campaignerkate

In 1969 the National Trust took a brave decision. It resolved not to renew its licences to the Ministry of Defence for training on trust land in the Dartmoor National Park.  It said that the licences would end in 1975 unless it could … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, Dartmoor, National parks, National Trust, Open country | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Open space to lose parliamentary protection

Posted on 28/01/2013 by campaignerkate

In the next week or so, the House of Lords will determine the fate of a multitude of open spaces, when it debates clause 22 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill.  The clause removes parliament’s right to intervene when open space is … Continue reading →

Posted in Bucks, green spaces, Growth and Infrastructure Bill, open spaces, Open Spaces Society | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A cold coming at Twigside

Posted on 26/01/2013 by campaignerkate

‘A cold coming we had of it’ and not just because of the snow.  The modest Twigside Farm, at Ibstone in Bucks, has now, with no thanks to Wycombe planners, been replaced by a mansion.  Users of the adjoining bridleway are not … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, AONB, Bucks, Public paths, riding, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A rarified atmosphere

Posted on 16/01/2013 by campaignerkate

My friend Lis Hawkins once described a visit to a record shop in London (was it the old HMV shop near Bond Street station?).  She would enter among the cacophany of pop music and climb the stairs higher and higher through various dissonances … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, People | 1 Comment

Gentle Jack had a spine of steel

Posted on 14/01/2013 by campaignerkate

On 27 January 1998 Ramblers demonstrated at the Treasury against the scandal of inheritance-tax exemption in exchange for public access which was not publicised.  One of the leaders that day was Jack Ibbott, who died on 27 December aged 91. Jack was treasurer … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, National trail, Obituary, People, Ramblers | Tagged , | 1 Comment

What would Eeyore have said?

Posted on 04/01/2013 by campaignerkate

The Open Spaces Society is preparing for its new look.  A new logo has been designed and it will soon appear on website, stationery and publications. Its first outing was today, when we changed the signs outside the office in … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, Open Spaces Society | Tagged | 2 Comments

I bought a common

Posted on 01/01/2013 by campaignerkate

Common Wood part 1 On 19 October 2011 I bought a common.  I hadn’t expected to become a landowner, but when Common Wood, near Horndon on the western side of the Dartmoor National Park, came on the market, along with other parcels of … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, butterflies, common land, common rights, Common Wood, Dartmoor, Devon, National parks, Natural history, Open country, Public paths, riding, walking, Woods and forests | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments