r u r a l r e c r e a t i o n

The Pike without the pain

Can’t Walk ? Don't Walk !

Free souvenir photos of your virtual visit to Scafell Pike.

“Once these footpaths have been destroyed there is no going back. We have to fix them now.” Kim Wilde

Worried about the impact of tourism on the environment ? Path erosion is a serious problem in the Lake District where 12 million tourists visit each year.

“Ugly scarred paths spoil the view for everyone - walkers, climbers and sightseers alike.” www.fixthefells.co.uk

The Inclusive Path proposes un-tourism where visitors will be able to visit sensitive sites like Scafell Pike without the need to walk on them, and yet still take away precious memories of the experience.

In addition the Inclusive Path will enable the owners of Scafell Pike, the National Trust, to offer an alternative to costly level access to the Pike by providing virtual access for the 3 million registered
disabled, a high proportion of the 20 million people over 65 and growing numbers of overwieght schoolchildren in the UK.

We were at Keswick Town Square  on the 4th and 5th of October 2007 and at Grasmere on the 6th and 7th. See the photos in the albums above.

This project was part of FRED which took place in Cumbria from the 28th September - 14th October 2007. See www.fredsblog.co.uk for more information.

Here are some questions we asked people:

Political, social, economic and cultural factors all effect who visits the countryside and how it is managed. Ruralrecreation exists to question what rural tourism means in the 21st century. Tell us whether you
agree or disagree with the following statements

Some people:

Believe that the landscape we have created over the past few thousand years should
always remain the same (conservationism)

Assert that the land is better when it is managed by professionals (environmental instrumentalism)
 
Think that we should allow nature to take back the land (environmental determinism)

Have realised that the grass is greener on the other side (capitalism)

Know that the countryside is a playground (urbanism)

Walk with their family and dog on a Sunday (theism)

Don’t see the wood for the trees (consumerism)

Feel that mountains are terrible (romanticism)

Need to live off the land (tourism)

Are out of place (scepticism)

Can’t walk outside (realism)