The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines that Divide Us

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Weaving together the stories of poachers, vagabonds, gypsies, witches, hippies, ravers, ramblers, migrants and protestors, and charting acts of civil disobedience that challenge orthodox power at its heart, The Book of Trespass will transform the way you see the land. Product Details I'll be honest with you, I'm not much of a reader of non-fiction so in a bookstore I would totally have just walked pass the book. As it is, the book became available on Pigeonhole and the title and description of the book intrigued me so I signed up for it.

It also made me sad how us 'common people' were walked all over when it comes to land ownership and how despite all this empty space around us you'll still hear the people higher up complain that we don't have enough space! The treatment of slaves was another heartbreaker! After my tent is up, or my bivvy-bag unrolled, the process of settling in involves further dialogue. I am a stranger to this place and this place is strange to me, and both of us must undergo a process of acclimatisation. This is often awkward, sometimes uneasy, occasionally alarming. An angry dog is barking somewhere. It’s in a village far away. There are empty beer cans under the leaves. Kids come here sometimes. That sounds like… footsteps through the trees. Not a person, an animal. It sounds big. It probably isn’t. A rat, a ferret, a fox. I can hear it breathing heavily. It’s a wild boar, perhaps. Are there wild boar here? Maybe.A powerful new narrative about the vexed issue of land rights [...] Hayes [is] practically a professional trespasser these days, no sign too forbidding to be ignored, no fence too high to be climed [...] The Book of Trespass is [Hayes's] first non-graphic book – though the text is punctuated by his marvellous illustations, linocuts that bring to mind the Erics, Gill and Ravilious – and in it, he weaves several centuries of English history together with the stories of gypsies, witches, ramblers, migrants and campaigners, as well as his own adventures. Its sweep is vast" A stirring appeal for us to freely access the land closed off to the public [...] By trespassing on the land, Hayes takes us on a roller-coaster ride through history [...] His book is an example of nature writing at its best but it has real political bite [...] [A book] to relish and learn from"

What a brilliant, passionate and political book this is, by a young writer-walker-activist who is also a dazzlingly gifted artist. It tells - through story, exploration, evocation - the history of trespass (and therefore of freedom) in Britain and beyond, while also making a powerful case for future change. It is bold and brave, as well as beautiful; Hayes's voice is warm, funny, smart and inspiring. The Book of Trespass will make you see landscapes differently -- Robert MacfarlaneIf it isn't clear already, Hayes is a strong advocate for increasing public access to land and a fierce critic of those in power who have found ways to take possession of public land and then fence it off to deny access. Generally it is a mild mannered approach he uses, seeking the elusive meeting with a wealthy landowner, but he does bare his teeth at the Daily Mail, so much so that it is hard not to see things from his way. What a brilliant, passionate and political book this is, by a young writer-walker-activist who is also a dazzlingly gifted artist. It tells – through story, exploration, evocation – the history of trespass (and therefore of freedom) in Britain and beyond, while also making a powerful case for future change. It is bold and brave, as well as beautiful; Hayes's voice is warm, funny, smart and inspiring. The Book of Trespass will make you see landscapes differently" Brilliant, passionate and political . . . The Book of Trespass will make you see landscapes differently' Robert Macfarlane This desire really resonates with me. Our local landowners are United Utilities, and much more so the Lowther family, or Lonsdale Estates as they are known. On a snowy day recently I had a run in with the new Forest Manager. I was 'trespassing', quite intentionally, on a favourite bit of ground doing of course, no harm to anyone or anything.