‘What else can we do?’: trespassers demand right to roam minister’s 12,000-acre estate

Campaigners visit Berkshire estate belonging to Richard Benyon, minister in charge of access to nature

It's hard to know what access to nature minister Richard Benyon normally finds in his gigantic Berkshire estate when he strolls out on a Sunday afternoon. It is unlikely, however, to be a loudly singing group of activist trespassers, dressed up as psychedelic animals and accompanied by an all-female morris-dancing troupe.

But that's what wandered up his drive on Sunday, when protesters visited the Englefield estate, calling on Benyon to open it up to the public and extend access for everyone to green space across England.