Thursday, February 5, 2015

Countryside is GREAT

http://www.footpath-holidays.com









Barns and sheep pasture, Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales

Not before time the decision has been made to promote the British countryside on the world stage. There's nothing new about the fact that Britain has an incredible variety and diversity of scenery, landscape and wild places in a relatively small country - that's the point, we've always had this. Even the 'man made' landscapes date as far back as Medieval times and some, incredibly, as early as the Neolithic. Our rich history and heritage are woven inextricably into these landscapes. The countryside is a living, working environment. It is a vibrant and 'happening' place, it is not a 'theme park'. The majority of 'iconic' structures in the countryside such as the stone barns in Yorkshire and the drystone walls in the Cotswolds serve a purpose. This sense of continuity only serves to enhance the visitor experience.
Hambledon Hill, Dorset

On one occasion a few years back I was walking near Broadway in the Cotswolds with a group of visitors from North America and we happened across a lady farmer building a dry stone wall. We stopped and passed the time of day and she asked if anyone would like to place a stone. Three or four of the group did so and were uplifted to have participated in this centuries-old rural craft. After we had moved away a number of the group took the time to tell me how 'neat' it had been that we set that up, they were even more impressed when they found out that I hadn't. That's just the way the countryside is. You never know what you might happen across. The other aspect of the countryside which comes as a huge surprise to many visitors is the incredible access we have to it, with over a hundred thousand miles of footpaths and thousands of square miles of 'open access' land, protected by law.

Cotswold village scene.

In the wake of the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001, the true value of visitors to rural Britain was put into perspective (and came as a surprise to many)  the profile of the countryside was given a much needed boost and fragile local economies began to mend.
Blackpool Sands, South Devon
Since 2001 the world has become a different place. We have lived through the financial crisis, increased terrorism and the influence of the internet and social media has increased exponentially.
Our attention span to any one particular thing has  markedly decreased thanks to the myriad influences and images to which we are subjected every day, so the association of Britain with natural beauty has diminished at about the same rate as the awareness of London as one of the world's 'must visit' destinations has increased.

Featherbed Moss, the Pennines

Let's hope that as people from around the world become reacquainted with the fantastic range of natural beauty on offer in Great Britain they will visit, spend a while and (in an increasingly fast moving world) tap in to that unique mixture of continuity and tradition and truly relax.

In our thirty year experience, people who visit the British countryside tend to fall in love with it and rarely content themselves with one visit!




No comments: