A countryside for all seasons

Submitted by PaulM on Tuesday, 14 October 2003 Page Views: 1472

**Uffington White Horse** submitted by vicky : The Uffington White Horse looking down to The Manger, a valley formed at the end of the last Ice Age. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tourism experts are urging people to leave the comfort of their sofas this autumn and get out to enjoy the English countryside. A campaign has been launched by Visit Britain to encourage more people to spend time outdoors whatever the weather.

Presenters Judith Chalmers and David Bellamy, jockey Frankie Dettori and mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington are all backing the Outdoor England drive.

Visit Britain says England boasts more outdoor activities any other country in Europe and that 81% of holidays here involve some sort of activity.

But despite this it says around 50% of trips in England are made in the three months between June and August.

The new campaign hopes to change this by highlighting activities from the World Conker Championships, to white-water rafting and discovering Wiltshire's white horses.

Jo Leslie, spokeswoman for Visit Britain, said: "We get a tiny percentage of trips being made during the winter months because a lot of people think places shut down. In fact 80% stay open.

"We are trying to reinforce the fact that England is a year round destination."

The campaign reminds sports enthusiasts of England's 37 designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 60 award-winning beaches and 400 mountains, as well as the thousands of miles of hills, valleys, woods, coastline and canals.

Visit Britain also promotes England's 5,000 miles of traffic-free cycle networks including the Coast to Coast (C2C) trail in Cumbria and the Tarka Trail in Devon.

Sir Chris Bonington said: "The English countryside provides the heart, soul and lungs of our country, where we can escape from a life that gets increasingly pressured and complex."

Minister for Sport and Tourism Richard Caborn has also given his backing to the new campaign and called on people not to stay indoors until May.

Source: BBC News 14/10/2003

Contributor Bio for PaulM: Based in Macclesfield, contributing since 2002. Favourite site: Hordron Edge. Occupation: Something in waste and recycling.

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