The new freedom of access allowed under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, which comes into force tomorrow, has been a long time arriving. For decades ramblers have campaigned for the right to roam over upland areas from which they were barred.

The campaign has at times been bitter. It has involved famous trespasses like the one at Kinder Scout. But now, after long negotiations, landowners have agreed that the public should have access to thousands of acres of open countryside which had previously been forbidden territory.

It is good news at a time when walking is being encouraged for its health benefits and more and more people are donning their boots and heading for the footpaths and byways. There are large new tracts of moorland around Bradford which they can now include in their weekend walking plans.

However, as Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council's executive member for the environment, rightly points out, it is important that at the same time as these areas are being enjoyed the rights and activities of landowners, farmers and land managers are respected.

It is important, too, that walkers are heedful of the fact that much of the newly-accessible land is Sites of Special Scientific Interest, home to vulnerable species of birds and plants. Those who wander about off footpaths could damage them. So could their dogs, which English Nature stresses must be kept under tight control.

But given that ramblers exercise responsibility (and the vast majority are sensible people), there is no reason why the new access rights should lead to any friction between them and the landowners who have agreed to let them on to their territory.