KINDER 80 – TRESPASS TO TREASURE
A week of nearly 30 walks, talks and other events in and around the Peak District will mark the 80th anniversary of the Mass Trespass on Kinder Scout in April.
The Kinder 80 Festival will be launched by author and broadcaster Stuart Maconie at the Moorland Centre, Edale, on Tuesday, April 24. Other speakers to the invited audience of countryside bodies will include 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.
You are cordially invited to send a representative to the launch event at the Moorland Centre, Edale at 10am on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. The launch will be followed by opportunities for interviews, and the photo opportunity of a short walk on Kinder.
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, has organised the week of activities.
These will include a re-enactment walk on Wednesday, April 25 from Hayfield and Edale by ramblers, some in 1930s gear, from Manchester and Sheffield, who will meet up for a victory celebration. That evening, internationally-renowned photographer John Beatty will give his spectacular Wild Vision audio-visual show at the Hope Valley College, Hope.
There will also be talks on the History of Kinder by Sheffield historian David Hey (Quaker Meeting House, Sheffield, 7pm April 26,), and Climbing on Kinder by the BMC’s Martin Kocsis (Moorland Discovery Centre, Longshaw, 7.30pm April 27). Walks will include special ones linked to the High Peak Health Walks programme, a timeline walk, and others aimed at schoolchildren with a focus on fun, adventure and exploration.
A Trespass-themed ceilidh featuring the Well Dressed Band and local singer-writer Sally Goldsmith will be held at the Broomhall Centre, Sheffield, on Sunday, April 29, and special exhibitions will be staged at the Moorland Visitor Centre, Edale; Castleton Visitor Centre, and the New Mills Heritage Centre.
A revised and updated version of leader Benny Rothman’s book on the trespass, published by Willow Publishing, will also be launched at the event on April 24.
For more details and further information, contact Roly Smith on 01629 812034 (roly.smith@btconnect.com) or Helen Tuck, National Trust Community and Learning Officer, on 01433 637904 or (Helen.Tuck@nationaltrust.org.uk)
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