The countryside has been around since the birth of our island and so has the inspiration for so many stories, songs, myths and legends. More and more people visiting the countryside every year, increasing love for the animals, birds and plants. However, this also comes with a price as the number of farmer/rambler conflicts increase, levels of litter have increased and people getting lost with inappropriate knowledge and equipment increases.
So to help us all enjoy the countryside more and preserve it and access to it for the next generation, here are some tips:
1) Plan your route before you go out. Remember phone signal out there can be poor to non-existent. If you get lost, injured or caught in bad weather, you want someone to have an idea of where you might be. Planning will also help you to know where you can escape to, if you need to. It doesn’t take to much, just grab yourself a map and watch some online videos. It’s easier than you might think.
2) Dress for the occasion, pack for every occasion. We all tend to go walking when its good weather but Britain being Britain, means the weather can easily change without notice. When you’re out in the fields and the weather changes, you not have anywhere to escape to quickly. Whether that’s rain or extra sunshine, make sure you have some clothes to keep your body regulated until you can get to a safe place. Its better to have it but never use it, then to need it and not have it.
3) Have the right selection of food and drinks. Our bodies need both of these to survive, but also to make sure our body and minds stay in peak condition to make the best choices we need to make. So make sure to pack a couple bottles of water and some sugar and carb loaded snacks as well as a decent lunch. Also stay away from juices, fizzy drinks and energy drinks, sugar can be good, but if your using it as your main source of fluid then it’s just too much and you could end up sugar crashing. Keep your high sugar drinks for lunch and in emergencies.
4) Pack food in reusable packaging. The countryside is not like the city, in many ways. One of the biggest difference is how it deals with any rubbish and litter. In the countryside, there will be bin collections and maybe street sweepers in the villages but nothing outside of them, also the number of collections and sweeps will depend on how busy the village usually is. This means that an unexpected increase in the number of tourists could mean bins get filled faster and more litter is produced. The only way any litter goes away in the countryside is through decomposition. So when you’re at home, and where it’s possible, remove all your disposable packaging and recycle it, then place your food in reusable containers. Also please take any food scraps (such as banana peels and excess food) home with you. Yes it will decompose but for the next few weeks others have to see it and smell it decomposing. Also millions of us use the countryside every year, if we each left a banana peel in the countryside, that’s a lot of banana peels we all have to walk through. This way we reduce the impact of our rubbish on the countryside.
5) Leave gates as you found them. So gates will be open, some will be closed. The gates have been left like that for a specific reason. For instance, a gate may be open to allow cattle to graze in one field while its water supply or place of safety is in another field or it maybe closed to prevent two herds from mixing as herd may have to be kept separated from the other. This rule applies to every type of gate and crossing you find in the countryside. So however you find it, remember to leave exactly like that when you leave it. The best way to do this is for the 1st person that reaches a gate, should be the last person the leave the gate.
We hope those you liked our list. Please do feel free to add a comment or let us know what your top 5 tips would be.