Uncommon Ground: An essential new book about our right to roam

by Patrick Galbraith

‘A curious-minded and subtle intervention in the politics of the countryside’ Sunday Times

'Galbraith spent three years investigating the truth about rural Britain and how we treat it. Uncommon Ground is the brilliant result' Daily Telegraph

'Very funny. Acutely observed. An attempt to look beyond the usual clichés of country life' Observer

“Brilliant. This book is a sort of necessary clever trespass itself, on everyone’s notions about ‘our land’.” Country Life

"Filled with voices from people who don’t always make the headlines in the UK land access debate." Scotsman

The countryside is under increasing pressure and people, the science shows, need nature. Access to the countryside is essential for our health, our happiness and our future. But does nature need us?

In January 2023, the largest land access demonstration since the 1930s took place on a bright wintery morning on Dartmoor. The access movement demands that the countryside be thrown open. This, they argue, would help nature by giving the public the opportunity to hold farmers and wealthy landowners to account.

But would it really work for Britain’s growing population to spill out across the countryside, and is access quite as restricted as we are led to believe?

In Uncommon Ground, Patrick Galbraith takes us on an extraordinary tour of rural Britain, from the Hebrides to Devon, and from Anglo-Saxon England to the present day. To uncover the truth and fully understand our deep connection with the land, he meets farmers, Irish Travellers, politicians, salmon poachers, and the nation's most-hated landowners, as well as activists calling for a total abolition of the right to own land.

In his much-celebrated style, Galbraith works hard to listen to those who often don’t get listened to. This raking survey of our fast-changing country, reveals the essence of rural Britain's soul. Uncommon Ground argues that what matters is not greater access but how we engage with the land and demands that landowners give us more opportunities to do so, while also giving endangered wildlife the right to tranquility.

Genres: Nonfiction

359 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 24, 2025

Reviews

[Hugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really well researched, thought provoking & enjoyable read.
I’ve worked in the countryside access & conservation field for 40 years and many of the points the author raises, particularly in the closing chapter, chime with my long held view that the way forwards is through engagement & understanding, not confrontation.
I’ve followed the Right to Roam group with genuine interest, but their core claims are convincingly debunked by the author making their claims seem naive and plain wrong. I applaud the sentiment that things need to change, but not maybe how RTR see it.
This book really gives a rounded view of the complex web of interest that forms ‘access’ to the countryside and highlights the good work that is going on to improve access alongside finding the right balance between that access & wildlife conservation while minimising the impact for those making a living from the land.
Well done Patrick for challenging the public perception of public access, making us think & consider things differently.

[Stephen Dunstan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me. I'd already read Patrick's 'In Search Of One Last Song', which I had enjoyed and considered very well written.

At the outset whilst I don't always share his views I thought I was going to enjoy this as much as 'In Search Of One Last Song'. It is very well written much of the time, my issues with it were:

- it's too long, more judicious editing would have been helpful or just not including the stuff around naturism and travellers (separate chapters!) that are rather tangential

- there are a number of proofreading issues, with missing words in several places

- on one of the areas of the book I knew most about (wild geese) there were errors of fact. That would be forgivable but near the end of the final chapter Patrick berates Mark Cocker for the same thing.

It's a viewpoint that needs a spokesperson and Patrick Galbraith is eloquent so it's a shame this isn't even better than it is.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't normally write a review if I hated a book..... but.... I feel compelled

His argument is essentially the plebs have access to more land than they think, big landowners are super altruistic, and anyway the great unwashed are too ill-informed to appreciate it and a few badly behaved oiks who cause damage etc mean the rest of us should be considered untrustworthy, we should be grateful for and make better use of the access we have.

That'd have been a 2 star. However the punching down and snide comments about people (weight, age, deafness etc) was unnecessary. Mind you he doesn't Diss the county lines gangster or the Romani, always punch down not up. Came across as a very unpleasant, snarky, entitled tory boy. (And so jealous of those successful nature writers he enjoyed batching about)

Luckily I got this from a charity shop and back there it will go....

[Jordan Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking and well put together book that lets the author’s interviews speak directly to the reader. The arguments, on both sides, are deeply personal accounts and allows the reader to understand differing points of view.

Conversations around access, conservation, estates, hunting, and the right to roam are all presented in an engaging way that question you own preconceptions and understanding of the topics and the people involved.

[Anna Grady · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skip read this as felt I'd got the gist of it after a few chapters i.e. access needs managing so competing rights can be balanced and the writer is quite in favour of shooting. I didn't sense that the issue of who owns the land and the rights/wrongs of this was fully addressed but maybe that was in the bits I missed. Easy to read.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of viewpoints of various people connected to the countryside. Would have been four stars but his writing style is incredibly clunky and his sentences are poorly constructed. Made me cringe & want to rewrite so it flowed better.

[Trevor Vick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought-provoking book providing a balanced consideration of countryside politics. The conflicting opinions of landowners and the people wishing to take advantage of our rural heritage. There’s little understanding between the two camps and the very little chance of compromise.

[Alex Boon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as bad at the end as it started, tries to be balanced but the author's pro-shooting/hunting biases are very clear throughout.