In a windswept quarry in the Peak District on 24 April 1932, a crowd of ramblers had gathered together, poised to set off on a long day of walking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were hundreds of young men and women, lads and girls, in their picturesque rambling gear: shorts of every length and colour, flannels and breeches, even overalls, vivid colours and drab khaki\u2026 multi-coloured sweaters and pullovers, army packs and rucksacks of every size and shape,\u201d recalled Benny Rothman, who was involved in the event.<\/p>\n

They were headed for Kinder Scout, a vast elevated plateau that offered stunning views of the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n

Getting there wouldn\u2019t be easy \u2013 it\u2019s one of the Peaks\u2019 most challenging routes. But it wasn\u2019t scrambling up steep rockfaces or crossing over streams that posed the biggest problem for the ramblers: it was the group of gamekeepers, some of them wielding sticks, who were determined to keep them away at all costs.<\/p>\n

At the turn of the 20th century, vast swathes of the English countryside were seen as the playgrounds of the landed gentry \u2013 and those who weren\u2019t aristocrats were barred entry <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
The great outdoors hasn\u2019t always been meant for everyone to enjoy. At the turn of the 20th century, vast swathes of the English countryside were seen as the playgrounds of the landed gentry \u2013 and those who weren\u2019t aristocrats were barred entry.<\/p>\n
The Peak District was no different, and Kinder Scout was home to grouse, which landlords would shoot at their leisure. But these rich men rarely found themselves in the mood to traipse up there for a day of shooting, and went on average only 12 times per year. When they weren\u2019t visiting, the land was empty, save for the grouse \u2013 with strictly no walkers allowed.<\/p>\n
Read more | How WW1 soldiers found hope in nature<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
This proved problematic, as in the 1920s and 1930s rambling had become something of a craze among Britain\u2019s working classes. Every Sunday, tens of thousands of people would take to the great outdoors. By 1932, around 15,000 working-class Mancunians left the city for a long Sunday walk.<\/p>\n
Why did the Kinder Scout trespass happen?<\/h2>\n
But there were limited places they could legally go. The Peak District then spanned more than 150,000 acres, but only 1,200 were open to the public \u2013 less than one per cent.<\/p>\n
With so many ramblers squashed onto the paltry 12 paths they could legally traverse, some tried to leave the beaten track and take their chances on private land. But the penalty of being caught was steep: gamekeepers would regularly give chase with sticks or even guns.<\/p>\n

The penalty of being caught was steep: gamekeepers would regularly give chase with sticks or even guns <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Unsurprisingly, the working classes wanted to be able to walk across more of the Peak District, including Kinder Scout.<\/p>\n
This call for greater freedom in outdoor spaces was echoed up and down the country, as the right to roam movement (which called for everyone to have access to the countryside), was picking up steam.<\/p>\n
Discontent started to bubble over in Easter<\/a> 1932. The British Workers\u2019 Sports Federation (BWSF), a sports organisation with communist sympathies, had set up camps in the Peaks. A group had been rambling to Bleaklow, a hill in the Peak District, but they were stopped by gamekeepers. This was the final straw.<\/p>\n
The group decided to stage a public protest against the land restrictions, and settled on a mass trespass on Kinder Scout. The radical ramble was scheduled for 24 April (a Sunday, of course), with scores of participants expected to pour in from local cities.<\/p>\n
The exact route of the trespass was worked out on the day itself, when, after finding themselves hemmed in by police at the recreation ground in nearby Hayfield \u2013 and in contravention of a byelaw that prevented meetings there \u2013 the ramblers moved on to a Water Board property before assembling at Bowden Bridge Quarry.<\/p>\n
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