Walkers are far more able to enjoy Bronte country and the Yorkshire Dales than a year ago thanks to right to roam legislation, according to the Environment Secretary.

MP David Miliband was speaking at Haworth's Youth Hostel yesterday to celebrate the first anniversary of the introduction of laws to help walkers.

Addressing members of the Ramblers Association, he applauded their commitment to fighting for their right to enjoy the countryside.

He said: "It's been a long haul and we kept you waiting for this legislation. Over time people dismissed what ramblers were saying as utopian, ridiculous or even heretical, when actually it was just common sense."

Following his speech in Haworth, Mr Miliband joined about 30 association members for the start of a five-mile walk across land overlooking the previously forbidden Bronte Moor.

Keighley MP Ann Cryer also accompanied the party at the beginning of the trek across Brow Moor.

The new freedom to walk on mapped areas of open countryside came into force across the whole of England a year ago. It formed part of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act.

This opened up one million hectares of mountain, moor, heath and common land.

A spokesman for the Ramblers Association said: "Despite misconceptions this right of access does not apply to domestic buildings and gardens. Neither does it affect land management."

Keith Wadd, chairman of the association's West Riding Area, said: "The Government's right to roam legislation has ushered in a new age of discovery. Throughout the moors, heaths, and mountains of England, walkers are now exploring new routes and enjoying new exciting views."

He said some landowners had been more reluctant than others to accept the right to roam.

However, he said the implementation of the rights of way act had not triggered off confrontations between walkers and landowners in Yorkshire.

"And it's not just for the present - it's for future generations too," he said.

"Walkers can appreciate new places with their heads held high when they meet landowners, as they now have the right to do so."

Haworth walker Marcus Blaydon, 44, said: "The law has made a difference - definitely.

"I've been a keen walker for 16 years and I have had a few run-ins with landowners and farmers.

"You used to be on the back foot dealing with them because they had the law on their side. Things have changed for the better now."

He said he believed most landowners recognised that ramblers were a "pretty responsible bunch", who respected the land they walked across.

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