NatureScot marks 20 years of Scottish Outdoor Access Code

12 February 2025

In February this year Scotland celebrated the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking and world-leading Scottish Outdoor Access Code and responsible rights of access for the public to land and water in Scotland. 

After two decades, the Code remains at the beating heart of the public’s everyday enjoyment of Scotland's great outdoors, empowering a generation who have grown up with the freedom to enjoy the land and inland water across Scotland. The latest Scotland's People and Nature Survey (SPANS) found that most people in Scotland now visit the outdoors at least once a week.

The advice the Code gives both the public and land managers allows Scots throughout the country to enjoy the outdoors in a way that balances freedom of access and responsibility to look after the land. However, more can always be done to ensure that the benefits are spread evenly across society and to increase understanding and use of these rights among all communities.

These rights have become a cornerstone of Scotland's identity, promoting access to the outdoors and nature while encouraging respect for those living and working on the land and caring for the environment. Having such open access to the outdoors connects us to the significant benefits it can bring to our health and well-being, as well as to the rural economy.

NatureScot website