In the book Winnie the Pooh, Piglet tells us his grandfather’s name was Trespassers Will. By doing so, Piglet was celebrating his ancestors and our trespassers.
Christians may be forgiven for getting muddled here, as we pray the prayer Jesus’ Tortoise: Forgive us our trespassers as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Actually trespass is a complex thing and it is worth a moment to celebrate our trespassers, without whom, in England at least, the Right to Roam would be much curtailed. I’m referring of course to the Kinder Mass Trespass in Derbyshire on 24th April 1932.
I followed some of that route this week (not all the way up to Kinder) and back to the village of Hayfield. There are various memorial markers on the route and it makes a worthwhile pilgrimage. I did not know that the Snake Path, which goes from Hayfield to the Snake Inn, was a much older route, from 1897. Some of the original iron gates remain in use.
Remember also that those arrested for the Kinder Mass Trespass were young men: between 20-24 years old, arrested for riot and resisting arrest amongst other things, they served prison sentences for our right to roam.
It interests me when we look historically of what was formerly a criminal offence but was later recognised as a public right. Things like women getting the vote for example. Remember these matters, they are important. Roaming and voting have this in common.
And as for a Mass Trespass….
Mighty Mountain Maker,
remembering those who have gone before to win the right to roam on these hills,
we call on you, Unsleeping One,
to fill us body, mind and spirit, as you fill us with bread and wine,
to make us a vigilant people
ready to defend the vulnerable and marginalised, to create safe spaces for all your creatures
as we take this pilgrimage, in the company of the Travelling One.
Janet Lees, Hayfield in Derbyshire (for a change) 28-30th June 2021.