The head of the CPRE: ‘Just looking at open fields and woodland and hills makes you feel great… The countryside has a soul, and people can feel that’
I absolutely agree with this – I just wonder if building up the bucolic credentials of rural England runs the risk of boosting visitor numbers beyond what is wise or desirable. This story tells us:
Rural spaces are so important. There’s the obvious stuff, which is the health angle of exercise and fresh air, and there’s the Nature cure: vitamin D, mindfulness etc. What the Covid crisis has perhaps highlighted is that Nature can be procured quite locally. It doesn’t have to be a trip to a national park! So we need to value our local public spaces. Another thing we need to look after is our Green Belt, which is constantly under threat. Our local green spaces need to be invested in, because it’s important for people to get to a space quite easily.
There’s something quite intangible about the countryside. Just looking at open fields and woodland and hills makes you feel great. It’s hard to put your finger on it, but it has a positive effect. The countryside has a soul, and people can feel that.