| No.27/2003
Research Findings |
Countryside and Natural Heritage Research Programme |
Public Attitudes to Access to the Countryside
NFO System Three
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In July 2001 NFO System Three were commissioned by the Scottish Executive and Scottish Natural Heritage to include a series of questions in two waves of the monthly Scottish Opinion Survey. Questions related to current levels of access to the countryside in Scotland, activities undertaken and the likely impacts of potential changes in legislation. The survey methodology used obtained results representative of the views of the Scottish adult population. |
Main Findings
- Just over a quarter of all Scottish adults participated in open-air recreation at least once a week. While members of social class A and B and people aged between 35 and 54 were more likely to have taken part in open-air recreation, people who did not have access to a car and social class D and E were much less likely to have done so.
- Most regular participants were motivated by the desire to exercise and enjoy fresh air and the need to walk dogs. Less frequent visitors to the countryside often had different motivations and were more likely to be driven by the opportunities to take a 'day out', to enjoy scenery and to take advantage of good weather conditions.
- Factors preventing or discouraging regular participants of countryside activities from taking part in open-air recreation more often included poor health, lack of time, and inclement weather conditions. Those respondents who had not undertaken any open-air recreation in the countryside during the previous year were more likely than other to have been prevented by poor health, lack of time, lack of interest or old age.
- The current laws relating to access to the countryside are unclear to most Scots with many apparently unaware or confused by the laws. Around a quarter of Scots think that 'there is no law of trespass in Scotland' while 1 in 8 think that they can 'only go to places that are signposted'. If access legislation changed, while the majority of Scots would not change the amount that they take part in open-air recreation, a significant minority would increase their levels of participation. Most notably, over 1 in 7 respondents stated that they would be more likely to visit woodlands and forests while similar proportions thought that they would take part in more sightseeing, short walks or picnics if the law changed.
Frequency of taking part in open-air recreation in countryside
While about an eighth of respondents took part in open-air recreation in the countryside on a daily basis (12%) and a further 20% participated weekly, 3 in 10 had not participated at all during the previous year (30%). Generally, respondents in the AB social classes, car owners, males and those aged between 35 and 54 participated most often while those who did not own a car, those aged 55 or over and those in the DE social classes were less frequent participants.
Motivations for visiting the countryside
Respondents who had taken part in open-air recreation at least once in the previous year were asked to indicate why they had done so. Overall, the most frequently mentioned motivations were to get fresh air (37%), exercise (33%) and to enjoy scenery (26%).
Activities undertaken
Respondents who had undertaken open-air recreation during the previous year were asked to specify the activities they had taken part in. Just under three-quarters had taken walks in the countryside of over 10 minutes but no more than a day in duration (72%) while about half had been sightseeing (47%) and 36% had been on a picnic. Respondents who visited the countryside on a daily basis were more likely to have taken part in most of the activities - most notably over half had walked a dog (55%) and about a quarter had been wildlife watching (23%).
Factors preventing participation
All respondents, whether or not they had participated in open-air recreation during the previous year, were asked to indicated what factors had prevented or discouraged them from taking part in activities in the countryside at all or as much as they would have liked. The most frequently provided reasons included being too busy (33%), the weather (33%), poor health (17%) and restrictions related to the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak (13%). Those respondents who had not undertaken any open-air recreation in the countryside for the last 12 months were more likely to state that this was because of poor health, a lack of interest or old age.
The Current Law of Access
All respondents were provided with a number of alternatives and asked to specify which best described their current understanding of the law of access in Scotland. Overall, about half of respondents thought that they could go to most places in the countryside provided that they did not cause any damage (47%) while a further 27% thought that 'there is no law of trespass in Scotland' (27%). Notably, 15% stated that they found the law confusing while a further 11% didn't know.
Crossing different types of land
Respondents were also presented with a list of different types of countryside and asked how they would feel about going across each type of land and water for recreational purposes. Over half stated that they would 'always feel free' to cross seashores (82%), paths (68%), lochshores or riverbanks (64%), canal towpaths (61%), moorland and mountains (59%), rivers (58%) or lochs (58%). On the other hand, the majority would 'not feel free' to cross fields with crops (82%) or fields with farm animals (76%).
Effects of legislation change
Respondents were told that in the future the law may be clarified to allow people the right of access to the countryside for recreational activities so long as they behave responsibly. They were then asked whether this change in legislation would make them any more or any less likely to visit different types of countryside or participate in specific types of activity.
Some 18% of respondents thought that they would be more likely to visit the local countryside, near to their home; 16% stated that they would be more likely to visit nearby countryside (within 20 miles of home) and 13% would be more likely to visit distant countryside (more than 20 miles). Respondents who previously participated in open-air activities in the countryside on a frequent basis were most likely to state that they would increase their frequency of visits if the legislation changed.
In terms of the types of open-air activities undertaken in the countryside, while the vast majority of respondents stated that they would not change their level of participation, a significant minority indicated that they would take part in sightseeing (14%), walks lasting no more than a day (14%) and/or picnics (13%) more often if the legislation changed.
Encouraging participation
When asked which of a list of types of information and facilities would encourage them to participate in open-air recreation if the law was changed, signposted routes (38%) and toilets (36%) were selected much more frequently than any of the other options. A further eight of the alternatives were each chosen by more than a fifth of respondents - better public transport links, clear information about rights and responsibilities, more maps, more promotion of the countryside and how to enjoy it, more paths suitable for all types of users, more specific information about sensitive times of year for farming and conservation reasons, more car parks and more paths near towns.
About the study
Using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) as the means of data collection, a sample of 2,074 Scottish adults aged 16 and over were interviewed during two periods: 26 - 31 July 2001 and 20-25 September 2001.
Interviews were conducted in-home within 40 sampling points throughout Scotland, selected to provide the appropriate geographical coverage in terms of population distribution. Within each sampling point, quota controls were applied on the basis of sex, age group, social class and working status. Only one interview per household was permitted and a random sampling procedure was adopted within the sampling points with a minimum of 5 households left between each successful interview. A minimum of 25 interviews were completed within each sampling point.
To ensure that the sample was representative of the adult population in terms of age, sex and class, results were weighted to match population estimates from the National Readership Survey of April 1998 - March 1999.
The project was co-funded by Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department and Scottish Natural Heritage.
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