Reel to Real: Our Land

Our Land dares to tread where few have trespassed before, asking the timely question of who has the right to roam in the English countryside? The UK is a wild and beautiful place, but the vast majority of it is off limits to the general public, with 92% of land and 97% of all rivers in England not legally accessible. At the same time, it is a landscape shaped by centuries of inheritance and tradition, with land held and cared for by families across multiple generations.

Our Land  takes us to the heart of the ‘Right to Roam’ movement as it embarks on a provocative trail of mass trespass, campaigning and education, while also exploring landowners’ concerns around environmental protection and the danger such widespread access could pose to a landscape already under threat.

Bringing these often-opposed worlds into sharp and revealing conversation, the film spotlights those fighting for greater public access — including Right to Roam campaigner Nadia Sheikh; Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book of Trespass, Nick Hayes; and Guy Shrubsole, Wainwright Prize-winning author of Who Owns England? and The Lie of the Land — as well as hearing from landowners from Cornwall to Scotland who see themselves as long-term custodians of the countryside. The film also brings to light barriers to connection to the countryside for people of colour, featuring groups that promote access to nature for Global Majority and refugee communities.

About our Guest Speaker

Nadia Shaikh is a naturalist and conservationist, Nadia has devoted her life to repairing our relationship with nature. She joined Right to Roam in 2021 after 14 years in the nature conservation sector, convinced that mainstream 'nature protection' wasn't involving people in a meaningful way and that the connections between enclosure, land ownership and our devastating biodiversity loss were too big to ignore.She now lives in Scotland where she enjoys roaming free, rock pooling and kayaking. She covers the campaign’s operations, events, and work on social justice.