Families had just one day a year to enjoy a leisurely walk through the ‘secret’ Wychwood Forest near Charlbury.
Palm Sunday, which was celebrated yesterday, was the only time Lord Rotherwick, owner of the 12,150-acre medieval woodlands, allowed public access.
The picture above was taken in 1984 when the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) took the opportunity to promote its campaign to have the forest open all the year round.
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Walkers and ramblers were asked, and were more than willing, to sign a petition supporting the campaign.
They were signing at a rate of 100 an hour.
One visitor that year, John Gill, from Oxford, told the Oxford Mail: “I have been here three years running on Palm Sunday and I definitely think it should be open to the public all the time.”
He said that while a day a year was better than none, the large number of people who walked through the woods on Palm Sunday still faced restrictions. “You have to go just where you are told.”
Ray Barrett, from Bampton, near Witney, said: “Because Palm Sunday is the only day when you can enter the forest, it attracts hordes of people which, for me, spoils a nice quiet walk.”
He said he would much prefer to be able to walk through the woods in peace and solitude.
He added: “I can understand Lord Rotherwick being concerned about vandalism and litter but most people who come out here to enjoy the beauty of the forest would not cause that kind of problem.”
William Findlay, from Scotland, was visiting his daughter, Morag Crowther, who had moved to Oxfordshire 12 months earlier.
He said after he signed the CPRE petition: “The woods are really beautiful.
“It’s a pity they are not open all the year round.”
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Mrs Crowther added: “Local people would get a great deal of pleasure from it.”
More than 1,200 walkers, half of them children, took the opportunity to visit the forest in 1984 - and afterwards, petition organisers said that 581 people, almost every adult, had signed.
Their efforts - and those of others in later years - eventually brought about a change of heart on behalf of the Rotherwick family.
In 1990, public pressure persuaded them to open one footpath, from Patch Riding, Finstock, to Waterman’s Lodge, near Charlbury, every day of the year.
The Secret Forest, or at least part of it, was secret no more.
The Council for the Preservation of Rural England was established in 1926.
The council saw itself as the guardian of the countryside, campaigning against threats to it.
The aftermath of the Second World War saw the passing of the landmark Town and Country Planning Act 1947 which was at the core of so much of CPRE’s subsequent work, and its aspirations for national parks finally realised.
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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF
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