Cumbria contains a third of the common land in England. Common land is land owned by a person or organisation and Cumbria has over 630 registered commons. Commoners have certain rights of common over the land  - these rights of include those for grazing animals, cutting bracken, collecting wood or sticks (estovers) , stone, cutting peat (turbary), and fishing (piscary). In Cumbria, common land is usually the unenclosed fell land (but it can also be saltmarsh and coastal land), and the public has a right to walk on it. Common land is important not only as the unspoilt and attractive uplands, but it is also valuable for wildlife and habitats, and cultural heritage.

Cumbria also has a large number of town and village greens whose purpose is for people to enjoy sports and other recreation. Such green spaces can be very important in our towns and villages but are often forgotten, undermanaged and have had illegal developments built on them. The Our Green Space www.ourgreenspace.org.uk project is trying to highlight these issues and find solutions.