I wouldn’t want my local park to be a dogging hotspot – it’s time Hampstead Heath cleaned up its act

When a group of north London dog-walkers asked gay men to stop using the ancient green space for open-air hook-ups, queer campaigners said it was their 'cultural right'. We no longer live in a twilight world – so it’s really not, says Michael Day

Hampstead Heath, north London’s ancient green lung, is renowned for its gay cruising (Shutterstock)

The militant dog walkers of Hampstead are in trouble. They have asked north London gays to stop having sex in public because it is spoiling the woody glades of the West Heath for everyone else – and locals would like to enjoy them, too, as the bluebells start to bloom.

This is a sickening and clearly pre-medicated attack on the LGBT+ community. Or so some would have us believe.

The suggestion that time be called on cruising on Hampstead Heath has been met with cries of “homophobia”. One protester, “sex-positive queer activist” Dan Glass, told the Camden New Journal: “It’s saying that queer people can't do what is legally and rightfully theirs – to have public displays of affection.”

I’m all for public displays of affection, regardless of gender or sexuality. I’m old enough to remember the Before Times, when homosexuality was largely illegal and you risked getting arrested or being bottled for kissing your boyfriend in public. Thankfully, those days are gone.

But that doesn’t mean I – or anyone else – wants to stumble across a stranger half-dressed in the bushes.

Hampstead Heath has been a gay cruising ground since the 19th century, its popularity an unintended consequence of Victorian laws that criminalised consensual homosexual acts. These days, police largely turn a blind eye to the Heath being used for anonymous sex around the clock – George Michael was a regular – but locals have upped the ante with signs that include the message: “Cruising for sex? Homosexuality is legal. Use a hook-up app like Grindr or Sniffies and get a room.”

They have a point. A good one.

Boys, we no longer live in the twilight world of the homosexual. For us gays, there are bars, clubs and saunas and even, thanks to apps, home deliveries.

But in their showdown against Hampstead locals and their labradors, some queer campaigners insist that using the West Heath as an open-air sex club is their “cultural right”, and that they have history on their side.

Wait, do I hear Peter Tatchell on line one? The great campaigner has talked about our right to cruise al fresco. I love Peter. But when I see him next, I’ll probably say we should be fighting the battles of the real oppressed homosexuals in the Middle East, Russia and Africa (as Peter already does so admirably), rather than pandering to those who whine about not being able to do it when they like, where they like, with whomever they like.

The Hampstead Heath crusaders have posted pictures on social media showing their "Sodomites' March”, on their cruising territory, with several baring their bottoms next to what they call "the F*** Tree”. They sound like naughty children, not freedom fighters.

The accusation of “homophobia” – such a powerful word when we needed it in the recent past – rings hollow. I doubt that the spat over Hampstead Heath is even a question of sexuality. I wouldn’t want my local park to be a dogging hotspot, and would be equally averse to seeing the uncovered rear-end of a straight, female thrill-seeker hanging out the window of a parked Ford Mondeo.

Protesters have hit back at the suggestion gay cruising on Hampstead Heath should stop, with cries ‘homophobia’ (Instagram/@thisismycultureparty)

Gay campaigners on the Heath no doubt think all the world should be interested in their sexual identity. It’s not. Shrill identity politics is boring, and providing our enemies on the right with ammunition to twist malleable minds.

A cruising-free Heath would mark neither the end of the world, nor the return of Section 28. The people of Hampstead and environs simply want to see daffodils and songbirds rather than quivering buttocks and related detritus. And I’m with them – even if I do object to the ugly gilets they wear.

The bottom line, if you’ll forgive the pun, is that in a free society we don’t have the right not to be offended. We do have some responsibility, though, to make reasonable compromises to ensure that life is bearable for all of us.

So, gays – get a room, or go somewhere where you’re not going embarrass people on a day out with their children. And take your rubbish away with you. You can still have plenty of fun, even if it’s not on the Heath.