The Legal position
Many people ask the question, where in the United Kingdom can you land a seaplane? It's probably easier to ask, Where can't you land a seaplane? Lets be fair how can any individual or corporation lay claim that the water is theirs!
The sea and its estuaries around the UK are free public access up to the high tide mark, ie. the mark that shows the highest level that the sea reaches at a particular point. This is written into statute law.
The sea and its estuaries around the UK are free public access up to the high tide mark, ie. the mark that shows the highest level that the sea reaches at a particular point. This is written into statute law.
Now let's look at Scotland. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (which came into force in 2005) gives everyone rights of access over land and inland water throughout Scotland, subject to specific exclusions set out in the Act and as long as they behave responsibly. These rights are sometimes referred to as "freedom to roam". These are statutory rights, a right granted by law and passed by a legislative body.
Finally let's look at England and Wales. There is no statute law to determine if you can or if you can't. However there is Common Law, this is the part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes. Common Law allows a Public Right of Navigation. The Common Law public right of navigation (PRN) was not created by legislation. The State Rolls show the PRN being enforced before a Parliament existed to legislate. The PRN is vested in the Crown and is inalienable (unable to be removed) unless by statutory legislation. The Lake or river must have a visible capacity for use.
Lakes and rivers are for the enjoyment of everybody and the test used is that the lake or river has a "Natural and Visible Capacity for use" - Lord Wilberforce in the Wills' Trustees case.
Parliament has deemed it necessary to restrict certain types of activities in certain areas. The Lake District in England and in Wales, Lake Bala. Both of these have a 10mph restriction. This does not take away the PRN nor does it prohibit seaplanes. With a 20mph head wind the Aircraft would not exceed this imposed speed limit.
So there you have it! Enjoy responsibly the beautiful lakes and rivers of the UK.
Further reading - Who owns the water?
Public enjoyment of the Waters can be contentious, but this has not always been the case
For much of the time, the waters of England and Wales are enjoyed by a wide range of users, sharing this wonderful natural resource without conflict. However, there are some who believe that they are, or should be, entitled to exclusive access to the water and waterside.
From about the mid-20th Century, challenges without success are recorded concerning the right of the public to be on or in the water without permission.
We believe, as do many others, that a public right of navigation (PRN) exists on all flowing water where it has not specifically been extinguished by statute. Some individuals are keen to point out that 'The Law' states there is no public right of navigation on water in England and Wales. In fact there is no statute, overriding or apparent, which supports this assertion.
In brief:
• There are acknowledgments of a Public Right to use water prior to 1750.
• There is no overall or encompassing statute which extinguishes pre-existing rights, merely an assumption by some that this has changed due to changing use of the waters of Wales, and England.
• If private rights have been allocated or sold since, these rights are held subject to the public right. Whilst fishing rights were originally granted for sustenance they are now more commonly used for 'sporting' purposes.
Differing views and understanding of the situation can lead to conflict between users and/or between users and landowners.
For most nations throughout Europe, and almost everywhere else in the World, the public position has been clarified in law. Most recently, Scotland enshrined public rights with responsibilities by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, with an accompanying outdoor Code. Welsh Government has the ability to pass similar legislation for Wales, but, while acknowledging that legislation may be needed, it has shown considerable reluctance to do so.
The law relating to public use of inland water in Wales, with the exception of sporting rights, is, for all parties, unclear while predicating its strategy to date on one, untested, interpretation.
Environment Agency stated in 2005:
"Our support and instigation of access agreements on rivers where rights to navigate may or may not exist does not constitute a comment on whether such rights exist or not. Such agreements are a pragmatic approach to securing recreational opportunities for the public. It is not currently our policy to seek to investigate any such rights.
Of course it is open to individuals or organisations to assert a right they believe they have, and were any such rights to be challenged to seek their confirmation via a legal process. Were any rights to navigate on be confirmed by the courts, we would of course give due regard to any such judgement."
This puts the onus on the public to prove their rights in court, even in the absence of evidence to the contrary.