Not in our back yard: Exploring the emerging and fraught relationship between right-wing English sport clubs and recreation excursions in the Welsh countryside

Founded in 2021 from the ashes of a defunct street-fighting ring, the Active Club Network embraced combat sport as a lens through which to promote the values of white nationalism to a predominantly young, male, and ideologically disillusioned English population. (Conway, et al. 2023) Beyond combat sport, the group engages in outdoor group excursions which serve to promote and reinforce the toughness and perseverance perceived as necessities in preparation for their impending race war. In 2024, several of the excursions have spilled across the border into Wales–specifically the rural southern mountain range of the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons). While there has been a marked rise in the outwardness of right-wing nationalist groups throughout England, their presence has been decidedly less prominent across its borders in Wales and Scotland. This article explores the intersection of sport, leisure, and right-wing extremism in the United Kingdom through the case study of English far-right groups reclaiming land and identity along the Welsh border. Grounded in theories of nationalism, space, and populism, and framed within the growing literature on everyday far-right geographies, the paper focuses particularly on The Woodlander Initiative. These groups blend outdoor recreation, fitness, and land acquisition to cultivate a vision of white English identity throughout the United Kingdom. The study examines how such movements challenge understandings of leisure as an inclusive space and raises pressing questions for sport and recreation policy in increasingly polarised political landscapes.