Devon Coast to Coast

We're just back from walking the devon Coast to Coast walk. Starting at Wembury Beach in South Devon and finishing at Lynmouth on the north coast, its a great walk incorporating as it does the Two Moors Way and the Erme-Plym Trail (the first day of walking and the bit that links the south coast to the start of the Two Moors Way at Ivybridge). It took us 6 days, averaging around 16 or 17 miles per day. Some days were longer than others of course, and the last day came in at around 19.

The countryside is amazing of course, expecially Dartmoor and Exmoor. What's also amazing, for someone who lives in Northern Ireland at any rate, is the fact that the countryside is just so accessible. So many paths, so much open country where you are free to just roam, safe in the knowledge that you have the right to do so. It is little wonder that activity tourism generates so much money for the local economy. All the way along the Coast to Coast trail a thriving tourist trade has developed. B&Bs, country farm house accommodation, taxi services, luggage transfer, package tour operators, all only really exist because the trail exists in the first place.

The lack of political will to improve the access situation in Northern Ireland continues to inhibit such economic opportunities for similar rural communities here.

Keep Ireland Open

I've been following the Keep Ireland Open website (http://www.keepirelandopen.org)  for a number of years now. They campaign for better countryside access in the Republic of Ireland. They have a tough job on their hands and I wish them well.

I've sometimes thought that some of their rhetoric to be, well, a little whiney, a little negative, and often downright confrontational and abrasive.  I can't really blame them, because the situation 'down south' is pretty dire from a countryside access point of view and it must be downright frustrating to be (or at least appear to be) that lone voice crying in the wilderness.

However, perhaps a change of tactics are in order. Instead of simply complaining about the poor legislative framework and general all round lack of access, I've always thought they would be better spending their time building relationships with those who would benefit from an overhaul of the countryside access laws. It shouldn't take too long to realise who these groups are. A long term strategy to change hearts and minds is what will eventually tip the balance politically.

Of course to do all this requires getting your facts straight, and making sure the story you tell is a convincing and compelling one. An idea can be overwhelmingly powerful, but only if it makes sense, if it has logic and right on its side. To this end, its good to see them listing some nice stats on their Spring 2013 newletter. Keep it up guys, and start thinking about that strategy.

White Easter

Managed to squeeze a quick walk in yesterday around Hillsborough Forest Park. I like this forest, its got a nice feel to it, even if it is rather small. Nice lake, castle grounds, mixture of coniferous and native broadleaves. There is still a lot of snow hanging around as you can see from the picture. The temp was around 2 or 3 degrees at best and its not forecast to get much better over the next couple weeks. Brrr!

National Trust -

I wasn't feeling great this weekend (man flu), so we went this morning for a short walk at Mount Stewart on the shores of Stangford Lough, a National Trust property. Impressive mansion, nice gardens, short forest walks, that sort of thing. Its nice, pleasant, good to have around. However, I just can't escape the feeling that its completely inaccessible.

Inaccessible how? Its set within the wider context of some very nice countryside. Rolling hills, forest, fields and hedgerows - every single acre of which is completely off-limits to ordinary oiks like myself - and you. Unless you enjoy walking along a busy A-grade road as a pleasant experience, then you really shouldn't try walking to Mount Stewart. No paths or bridleways lead to it. Also, no matter where you walk in Mount Stewart you're going to eventually come across a 'No Access' sign. This is wrong, perverse; an equivalent property in England would be totally connected path-wise to the rest of the landscape. Access there is taken as a given

Don't get me wrong, the Trust do great work. As well as conserving great buildings, they maintain large tracts of countryside, and keep most of it open for access all year round. In the relative desert of access that is the Northern ireland countryside, they have developed many little oasis of accessibility. Divis and Black Mountain, North Antrim Coast, Fair Head, Slieve Donard, Castle Coole to name but a few.

But it strikes me as odd that the Trust, one of the UKs most powerful environmental campaigning organisations, and one supposedly committed to increasing access to the countryside, has never (to the best of my knowledge) addressed Northern Ireland's poor countryside access situation. Why not?

Newtownabbey Way

We walked the newly opened Newtownabbey Way recently. Lovely trail, for both walkers and cyclists alike, and with plenty of surprises (the viaducts are astonishing). Kudos to Newtownabbey council for having the vision to create such a great amenity - please pay attention everyone else.

Being that it disects essentially urban and suburban areas, its success should be well assured, but it will need to be maintained - litter as always is going to be a problem from certain anti-social types out there.

It links up with the Loughshore Trail, providing an off-road experience all the way to Belfast, Joining up with the Lagan Towpath.

http://www.newtownabbey.gov.uk/maps/newtownabbeyway.asp

Glens of Antrim potential explored

A review of the potential of activity tourism in the Glens of Antrim has just been published.
http://www.antrimcoastandglensaonb.ccght.org/access-to-the-countryside-audit/
Its a very interesting read, although it somewhat states the obvious - this great landscape could, if its potential is properly harnessed, become a hub of activity tourism. From reading it, it becomes painfully obvious that, without the proper legislative framework, it will probably continue to be under developed.
There is hope however. Local communities are now waking up and thinking seriously of how to attract people to their area. Individually, reports like this can't turn things around. But added to other research they may eventually make our politicians wake up to the potential of our countryside. Just don't hold your breath.

Little imagination

With the news that FG Wilson (Caterpillar) is laying off another 700 or so workers, our politicians are caught like rabbits in the headlights of not so much a car as an oncoming locomotive (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19587807). The economy is in the crapper and all they can do is...what exactly? Not much it would seem. Business leaders call for a lowering of the corporate tax rate, but there is little evidence that this would do anything except make businesses richer at the expense of ordinary working families, shifting the tax burden in an unacceptable fashion. It would also mean a cut to the block grant from HM Treasury of such magnitude as to actually threaten Northern Ireland's very viability as a governable entity.

The common theme is a complete lack of imagination or even willingness to engage with the real issues at hand. Much has been made of exploiting tourism, of making Northern Ireland a more attractive place to visit. Talk extends as far as setting up more golf courses in areas already overloaded with them, and in areas which need to be protected from stupid over-development. Where are the discussions about the one thing that would give Northern Ireland that extra edge (or at least equalise things a bit) - countryside access reform?

It would be almost laughable were it not so tragic that, instead of grasping the opportunity which so obviously presents itself, we have our Environment Minister Alex Attwood running scared from creating Northern Ireland's first national parks simply because the Ulster Farmer Union stamp their feet at the mere suggestion (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19550802). Fear of change is of course the reason the farming lobby do so, for they are not so daft as to realise that access in such areas won't have to be enhanced - a park isn't a park unless you can walk around it a bit. However, the more enlightened surely realise that this very change will likely deliver a more prosperous future for them and their families. We simply cannot afford this myopic self-defeating nonsense anymore. If we don't change, if we don't show a willingness to improve things and to progress, for the benefit of all this society and not just the few, then what is the point of having a local Executive?

So, a challenge to our politicians: get your collective fingers out and start making a difference. Get your heads out of your favorite subjects of flags and marches and sectarian whataboutery, and get them into creating and delivering a real and imaginative program for government (as opposed to that lifeless thing you 'created' recently - http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/index/programme-for-government-and-budget-v1.htm) that will improve people's lives, not just economically but socially and environmentally also.

Here's a starter for ten - let's create a new legislative framework on countryside access that will actually deliver positive outcomes for everyone. Marry this legislation to a top down 10 year strategy with the aim of delivering a structured network of bridleways and footpaths right across Northern Ireland, linking every part of it with off-road access for walker, cyclist and horse-rider alike. Guarantee access to all parts of our uplands and mountains as a right. Create a path around the entire coastline. Create a path around Lough Neagh and also Lower and Upper Lough Erne. Create tow paths along all our major rivers. In short, create a countryside environment which will mean that hundreds of thousands more people, both at home and from abroad, will want to visit and explore our beautiful landscapes, and where new and existing tourism businesses can make investments, in the knowledge that they will have every chance to develop and flourish.

Too radical? I think we live in radical times. We have radical problems, we need radical solutions. And when you think about it, there's little radical about it. Its nothing more than simply playing catchup with the rest of the UK and most of Europe anyway.