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Sat 04 Apr 2007Walk this wayThe UK environment secretary announced an ambitious scheme last week to establish a right of access to the entire coastline of Britain. This extension of the right to roam may reflect noble ideals, but it is rooted in utterly practical considerations. The UK, along with most developed countries, recognises that recreational walking has obvious social benefits. It can give a huge economic boost to rural communities struggling with the decline of farming and if well organised, provides an environmentally sustainable form of tourism.Ireland is ideally placed to reap all of these benefits. Yet the development of walking here is stymied by an extraordinarily restrictive attitude to access. Almost uniquely in northern Europe, Ireland has no recognised right to roam over unproductive land. The courts have found that traditional rights of way have little legal force. Even where large way-marked routes have been established and are being promoted by tourism authorities, an individual landowner can decide at any moment to block access, making the whole scheme redundant.