Talk:Land reform in Scotland

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It would be interesting to know what rights the public had before the law and what it changed? Inge 09:12, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi Inge,

Basically we had an act of Parliament which stated that the rights of the population went above that of the 'gentry'. Not much has changed in the new law except for the 20yr law, where a landowner must prove that a (e.g.) footpath has not been in use for that time. The onus IS on the landowner and not the user. Another newbie is the update in terminology. For the first time Moutain Bikes are mentioned with walkers and Horseriders. As I say, not much has changed with regards access in Scotland but now it is written in modern terminology with todays needs incorporated. Why oh Why is English law so outdated? An English friend told me they still had the ancient law of tresspassing on the statute...surely not??!! In todays society this is so incomprehensible.

Andy