Advanced Search

Tourism in the Countryside - Activity

What do we mean by the 'countryside'?

• Places left largely untouched by large-scale human development?
• Havens for wildlife?
• Sources of inspiration for all?

Here's the Government's view as seen in Defra's (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Rural White Paper (2000):

Source: Defra Rural White Paper.

The River Avon near Bath - typical English countryside! Copyright: W. Scott.

What tourist activities take place in the countryside?

Walking is by far the most popular activity in the countryside. The UK Day Visits Survey showed that 35% of countryside visits and 27% of seaside visits identified walking as the main activity done during the visit.

Other important countryside activities are: cycling, horse-riding, angling and fishing, game shooting and wildfowling, canoeing, sailing and boating.

Milestones in the development of tourism in the countryside

Sunset over the Lakes, one of the most beautiful corners of England. Copyright: Barry McCabe, from stock.xchng.

• In the late 1700s, poet William Wordsworth described the Lake District as "a sort of national property, in which every man has a right and an interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy". However, it wasn't until the late 19th and early 20th century that the idea of holidays and weekends spread down the social scale. The development of the railways in the Victorian era helped promote tourism to the wider population.
• Taking a holiday meant getting away from often cramped, industrial conditions. New railway lines meant that people could visit seaside tourist locations such as Cleethorpes, Skegness, Clacton and Blackpool.

• Until the 1930s, taking a break of more than a day or two could mean going without pay. Workers relied on the benevolence of their employer to provide paid holiday time. Some workplaces had to shut down for a period, often in summer, for essential maintenance to be done. There is also evidence of 'orchestrated absenteeism' in some industrial towns as workers left for planned excursions.
• The 1938 Holidays With Pay Act established the idea that paid leave to 'get away from it all' was justified. But the Act was in reality a first step, setting a number of consecutive days that a worker could have for holidays.
• In the 1930s, many working people could not afford to pay even to stay in seaside resorts such as Skegness or Clacton. Holidays in Blackpool usually meant staying with a landlady in rented accommodation.
• Before the 1938 Act, people who took a holiday without being paid usually looked for a cheap one. In the 1930s, one of the cheapest ways to have a holiday was to rent a 'plotland' bungalow. The word 'plotlands' meant places where, until the end of the 1930s, land was divided into small plots and sold to people wanting to build their holiday home or smallholding. They were meant to be a place for family holidays and eventually for retirement; plotlands were often offered for rent.
• Plotland developments such as those in Canvey Island must have seemed to be inconvenient, far away from facilities and lacking in all but basic sanitation. But they were the means for some people to experience family holidays for the first time.
• The 1947 Town and Country Planning Act attempted to put an end to unregulated building. Merely owning a piece of land was not sufficient to develop it. In order to build a house, you now had to seek and obtain planning permission. The 1947 Act effectively put to an end the spread of plotland development.
• The 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act aims to establish national parks to preserve and enhance their natural beauty and provide recreational opportunities for the general public.
• Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) are also recognised by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. An AONB is a landscape whose distinctive character and natural beauty are so outstanding that it is in the nation's interest to safeguard them. There are 40 AONBs in England and Wales and 9 AONBs in Northern Ireland.
• 1950s saw the creation of ten National Parks starting with the Peak District, followed by the Lake District, Snowdonia, Dartmoor, Pembrokeshire Coast, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor, Northumberland and Brecon Beacons.

Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales, one of Britain's National Parks. Copyright: W. Scott.

• 1988 saw the creation of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads National Park.
• The Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW) 2000 adds further protection to AONBs. It also extends the 'right to roam' to many areas of privately owned land. In 2004, Madonna and Guy Ritchie fight to prevent public access to parts of their Ashcombe House estate on the Wiltshire/Dorset border. (See our At Your Leisure on the CRoW Act)
• In 2005, two National Parks in Scotland are established at Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. National Park status is also given to the New Forest. Only the South Downs remains as undesignated from the original 12 proposed parks in England and Wales.

What are the main membership organisations in countryside tourism?

• The Youth Hostel Association (YHA) (http://www.yha.org.uk/) operates more than 200 youth hostels across England and Wales. The YHA aims to help all, especially less affluent young people to know, love and care more for the countryside by providing accommodation, in order to promote health, recreation and education. Membership numbers nearly a quarter of a million.
• The National Trust (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/) founded in 1895, cares for nearly a quarter of a million hectares of countryside in England, Wales and N. Ireland, plus over 700 miles of coastline and more than 200 buildings and gardens. Membership numbers nearly 3.5 million.
• The Ramblers' Association (http://www.ramblers.org.uk/) was officially formed in 1935, building on the efforts of groups working in the 19th century, dedicated to preserving ancient footpaths. Membership numbers over 140 000.
• The Countryside Alliance (http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/) campaigns and lobbies to influence legislation and policy that affects the countryside, rural people and their activities. Formed in 1997, the Alliance has more than 100 000 members.