Almost 75% of England’s riverbanks ‘off limits’ to public, figures show

The Guardian Environment Saturday 25 July 2026, 07:00 UTC By Sandra Laville Environment correspondent 1 min read

Key Points

Campaigners urge government to introduce right of access to water, particularly as heatwaves become more commonAlmost three-quarters of riverbanks in England have no public access, according to data released by the Right to Roam campaign. Across the country, the public cannot use riverbanks or gain access to the rivers themselves in most of the river catchments from the west of Cornwall up to the Tweed, which flows through northern England and Scotland.

Campaigners urge government to introduce right of access to water, particularly as heatwaves become more common

Almost three-quarters of riverbanks in England have no public access, according to data released by the Right to Roam campaign.

Across the country, the public cannot use riverbanks or gain access to the rivers themselves in most of the river catchments from the west of Cornwall up to the Tweed, which flows through northern England and Scotland.

England (LOCATION) Cornwall (LOCATION) Tweed (ORG) Scotland (LOCATION)

Originally published by The Guardian Environment Read original →

Pioneering activists risked arrest and imprisonment amid lingering persecution after Franco dictatorshipNew research has shed light on Spain’s first transgender political organisation, a trailblazing collective that was launched in 1978 as its members grappled with the lingering persecution of the country’s four-decade dictatorship. Founded in Barcelona, the Colectivo de Travestis y Transexuales, or Collective of Transvestis and Transexuals, sought to add its voice to the heated conversation...

The Guardian UK 1h ago

Andrew O’Hagan: ‘The worst thing anyone’s said to me? That I was the spitting image of David Cameron’

The author on an encounter with the CIA, an embarrassing moment in church, and longing to hold hands with David AttenboroughBorn in Glasgow, Andrew O’Hagan, 58, studied at the University of Strathclyde. In 1995, he published The Missing, a work of nonfiction. His debut novel, Our Fathers, was shortlisted for the Booker prize in 1999; Be Near Me and The Illuminations were longlisted in 2006 and 2015.

The Guardian UK 1h ago

Family of missing Rohingya footballer fear he is among 500 believed dead in Myanmar shipwrecks

‘I can’t tolerate this life,’ said the 24-year-old in his last voice message to his relatives. Attacked by the military, a rebel army and criminal gangs, Siraz Ullah risked all for a better futureThe fear was audible as he spoke, recording a message to his family, asking for their prayers. After pressing send, 24-year-old Siraz Ullah boarded a boat he hoped could deliver him from the violence and persecution surrounding him at home in Myanmar.

The Guardian UK 1h ago

Almost 75% of England’s riverbanks ‘off limits’ to public, figures show

Related Stories

Commonwealth Games 2026: day two updates – live

Revealed: history of Spain’s fearless 1970s trans-rights political collective

Andrew O’Hagan: ‘The worst thing anyone’s said to me? That I was the spitting image of David Cameron’

Family of missing Rohingya footballer fear he is among 500 believed dead in Myanmar shipwrecks