EXCLUSIVE English banned from beauty spot… but Scots can roam free: Fury as landowner blocks off river on south of national border while access remains open to villagers on other side
A heated land row has broken out over access to a stunning riverbank on the border between England and Scotland.
While people living on the Scottish side of the River Tweed can roam freely, those near the village of Cornhill, in England, are restricted by the landowner.
The landowner in question was named locally as the Duchess of Richmond, whose main residence is the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex, famous for its annual motor racing festival.
Although generations of English families have enjoyed the riverside path for years, the Duchess of Richmond has fenced it off in a hugely controversial move.
Yet what makes it even more infuriating for concerned residents is that under Right to Roam legislation in Scotland, homeowners who live just metres away on the northern bank of the Tweed have free access to the beauty spot.
The English public are not allowed into the wooded area on the left, but just metres away on the other side in Scotland, people can roam wherever they like
While people living on the Scottish side of the River Tweed in the town of Coldstream (left) can roam freely, those near the village of Cornhill, in England (right), are restricted by the landowner
The area in red is restricted from the public. Locals said the wooded area is owned by the Duchess of Richmond, who lives in West Sussex
Although generations of English families have enjoyed the riverside path for years, the Duchess of Richmond has fenced it off in a hugely controversial move
The entrance to the riverside path was padlocked with a metal chain when MailOnline reporters visited
The move caused outrage among the people of Cornhill, who believe they’re being treated unfairly
One side of the path is gated off with a private road sign, while the other has been blocked by a wooden fence
The Scottish law states landowners are not permitted to exclude members of the public from such areas as long as they behave appropriately.
The move caused outrage among the people of Cornhill, who believe they’re being treated unfairly.
One side of the path is gated off with a private road sign, while the other has been blocked by a wooden fence.
Historian Trevor Swan, 75, lives on the Scottish side of the river but has family ties to Cornhill.
He said: ‘I think it’s an appalling situation that they closed off the path.
‘Without a shadow of a doubt that path has been used for years.
‘When you compare it to the Scottish side where all the paths are open, it’s really sad.
‘I used it a lot when I was younger. We used to walk from Cornhill around to the nearby plantation site.
‘It’s sad that people can’t use it like I did, and my ancestors before me.
‘There never used to be a problem when it was owned by the previous family.
Historian Trevor Swan, 75, (pictured) lives on the Scottish side of the river but has family ties to Cornhill. He said: ‘I think it’s an appalling situation that they closed off the path’
The 75-year-old said: ‘When you compare it to the Scottish side where all the paths are open, it’s really sad. ‘I used it a lot when I was younger. We used to walk from Cornhill around to the nearby plantation site’
Retired shop worker Morag Pitman also used to regularly walk the land that is now closed off. The 70-year-old said: ‘I find it very disappointing because it was a beautiful walk to do’
He added: ‘We made our mouth go at the time but nothing came of it. We heard the excuse that people weren’t cleaning up dog mess but I didn’t believe that’
‘The local people in Cornhill are missing out. People have tried their hardest to get it open but without any success.’
Retired shop worker Morag Pitman also used to regularly walk the land that is now closed off.
The 70-year-old said: ‘I find it very disappointing because it was a beautiful walk to do.
‘It’s been shut from both sides now which is such a shame.
‘We made our mouth go at the time but nothing came of it. We heard the excuse that people weren’t cleaning up dog mess but I didn’t believe that.
‘I sometimes go down the steps at Coldstream and I walk along that bit, but I can’t walk on my side of the river which doesn’t make sense.
‘I can’t remember ever receiving a proper valid reason as to why it had to shut.’
No one visits that side of the river anymore and walkers have had to go elsewhere in England, or cross into Scotland instead
Another person from the area said: ‘We were told there was drug taking going on but there’s nobody but pensioners here’
An English local, who wished to remain anonymous, explained: ‘They barricaded one end of the path with boards and the other with locked gates.
‘It’s a well-used track which dates back hundreds of years.
‘It came to a head several years ago when we were told we couldn’t use it anymore because the Duchess of Richmond decided against it.
‘I wrote to her and said we felt it was very unfair that we had no access to the riverbank.
‘She then allowed villagers to use the path again. But it wasn’t long before we got another letter saying she rescinded that move.
‘We were told there was drug taking going on but there’s nobody but pensioners here.
‘There’s only a handful of walkers around here. It shouldn’t be a problem to walk there.
‘People now have to drive over to Coldstream if they want to walk along the riverbank.
‘You then have to look across at the path we’re not supposed to walk on.
‘They have the right to roam in Coldstream but we have nothing.
‘It doesn’t affect the Duchess but it affects everyone in the village.’
He added: ‘People now have to drive over to Coldstream if they want to walk along the riverbank’
Another local, who didn’t want to be named, added: ‘I’m from Scotland so I found it a big surprise when I moved here. I walk everywhere but once I came to Northumberland, the limits are completely different despite it being around the corner’
The restricted path has one of its entrances by the bridge over the Tweed towards Coldstream
The resident added: ‘We’re only two fields away from the Scottish borders and we tend to think ourselves as part of Scotland.
‘Our doctors, pharmacists and shops are in Coldstream so our lives are spent a lot over the border.
‘But yet it feels like a feudal system with the way we’re treated.
‘I won’t rest until we get it sorted.’
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A friend of the resident, who moved up in the 1990s from London, added: ‘My son used to camp down there when he was a teenager and he never needed permission.
‘Nobody would ever say anything because there’s no harm in using it.
‘We’re in the middle of the countryside, it’s not as though we have lots of crime.
‘You can go anywhere you like on the Scottish side as long as you respect it.
‘The anti right to roam people argue that their local beauty spot would get full of rubbish at the weekend.
‘But we only have access to eight per cent of outdoor land therefore millions of people congregate on the tiny bit of land.
‘If everywhere was free access then people would spread out.
‘I don’t think the trespassing law is actually all that punishable, but people here just don’t want the hassle.’
Another local, who didn’t want to be named, added: ‘I’m from Scotland so I found it a big surprise when I moved here.
‘I was very used to being able to have the freedom to go where I wanted to.
‘I don’t like having these limitations. I walk everywhere but once I came to Northumberland, the limits are completely different despite it being around the corner.
The Duchess of Richmond and her family did not respond to a request for comment.
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