The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines that Divide Us

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If 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.

Brilliant, passionate and political . . . The Book of Trespass will make you see landscapes differently' Robert MacfarlaneThis isn’t the politics of envy. All we’re asking is that the lines between us and the land are made more permeable He crosses the boundaries of one grand domain after another – from Cliveden to Arundel, Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey) to Windsor Castle. Eloquent writing evokes the woodlands, the wildlife, the landscapes and ecologies of the countryside that the post-Norman millennium of property law – or, if you prefer, “violence and theft” – has shaped. Withdraw our consent to the tyranny of private property. We don’t agree any more will not participate in our own servitude. A better way is possible, and will make England a better place to live in Defend our footpaths and rights of way – and expect landowners to maintain them as they are required to do On childhood rambles I learned that those “Trespassers will be prosecuted” notices were legal fictions.

Hayes is an alert, inquisitive observer . . . He works also in the tradition of nature writers like Robert Macfarlane ... This sensibility gives him a poetic sense of the different ways that we might use and share the land to the benefit of all . . . Beyond its demand for specific, concrete changes to the law on what land we may step onto and for what purposes, this book is a call for a re-enchantment of the culture of nature * Tribune Magazine * The author takes us on a trespassing journey each chapter with a focus on certain aspects of common law and inequalities. At times the flow can be a bit of a ramble (no puns here) but overall the writing is engaging and quite accessible. Seeks to challenge and expose the mesmerising power that landownership exerts on this country, and to show how we can challenge its presumptions . . . The Book of Trespass is massively researched but lightly delivered, a remarkable and truly radical work, loaded with resonant truths and stunningly illustrated by the author -- George Monbiot * Guardian * 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 * Observer * Hayes is an alert, inquisitive observer . . . He works also in the tradition of nature writers like Robert Macfarlane … This sensibility gives him a poetic sense of the different ways that we might use and share the land to the benefit of all . . . Beyond its demand for specific, concrete changes to the law on what land we may step onto and for what purposes, this book is a call for a re-enchantment of the culture of nature

to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more. This seems especially pertinent when those individuals are operating on purely commercial instincts. 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