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John Bainbridge (1953-) is an English author and campaigner for countryside preservation and access. He read Literature and Social History at the University of East Anglia.

Born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, Bainbridge spent his childhood at 15 Ray Hall Lane, Great Barr, and was educated at Hamstead Primary School, Grove Vale School and Dartmouth Comprehensive. It was from there that he began exploring the British countryside, often taking walking tours that lasted for months at a time. He moved to Devon as a teenager and became very knowledgeable about Dartmoor.

Bainbridge served as chief executive of the Dartmoor Preservation Association from 1996—2005, and led the victorious campaign to save the archaeologically important Shaugh Moor from waste tipping by the china clay industry. He led the campaign for right to roam in Devon, which culminated in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. He has opposed the military presence on Dartmoor, for which he was praised by Anthony Steen MP in the House of Commons in 2003 Hansard 15 October 2003.

An unapologetic trespasser Bainbridge remains a steadfast campaigner for countryside access.

As a writer he has contributed to most outdoor magazines and is the author of some thirty books about British topography, including Dorset Coast, South Devon Coast and Newton Abbot, Around Torbay, The Cotswolds, Worcestershire.

In 2009 Bainbridge created the Teignmouth and Dawlish Way long distance footpath, writing the guidebook of the same name.

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "John Bainbridge", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0