That was my point.
Your 'nature' has been so modified by human activities for thousands of years.
Added to that, you are denied access and activities, so unlike my place.
I admire how you can work with the restrictions.
........
I like it when UK posters reveal where they go. Then I can use Google Earth with maps to follow you
and SatView to see the landscape. You can do the same over my place.
Thank you for your illustrated travels.
I think Robson V assumed you had the same rules as England, and did not know you guys adopted the ancient Scandinavian ’Right to Roam’ rules, regulations and restrictions what, a decade ago?
In Sweden we were taught that the Right to Roam consists of a lot of responsibilites and a few rights!
I can’t really add anything useful to the debate as to whether bushcraft (whatever that is) has peaked since I was enjoying the outdoors in a variety of ways before it became a commonly used term and hope to continue doing so if it ceases to be a “thing”.
I am however bemused by the recurring narrative from contributors who as far as I can tell have little or no direct experience to draw on that there is no countryside worth bothering with in the UK and even if there was, you wouldn’t be allowed to go there.
I’ve had the good fortune to have been able to spend a fair bit of time living, working and travelling in some truly spectacular and wild parts of the world (though sadly the attack ships were not on fire the day I was off the shoulder of Orion and the Tannhauser gate was closed!
) but back in the UK, despite respecting the rules (perhaps with the exception of where accepted local practice regarding wild camping in upland areas above the fenceline varies from the letter of the law), I certainly don’t feel unduly restricted by or feel the need to apologise for the British countryside.
@Janne seems obsessed with drawing unfavourable comparisons between the UK’s right to roam rules and those in Scandinavia (which are exceptional) but as someone who has spent decades actually out enjoying what these islands have to offer from winter mountaineering in the Scottish Highlands and Snowdonia, long distance footpaths and mountain bike routes to gentle summer bimbles to a pub or two, I can honestly say I have rarely if ever felt constrained by rights of access.
@Robson Valley Instead of G00gle Earth etc. look at the 1:25000 scale Ordnance Survey maps which record in great detail not only the physical terrain but also the Public Rights of Way that crisscross privately and publically owned land in the UK. These have nothing to do with a general right to roam and are the legacy of thousands of years of human occupation of these islands and the reasons for their existence are many, varied and often fascinating but basically depending on the type of RoW the public has the right to walk, ride, or sometimes drive over privately owned land. I have a footpath and bridle path which converge on my land meaning that walkers and riders (both horse and cyclists) have the right to cross. This is not unusual and just about any holding of more than a few acres is likely to have similar rights across it.
If you want to get from A to B in the UK, the chances are you will be able to get there via this network of paths and tracks. In the more rugged areas, while the right to roam might give you the right to pick your own route across a mountain range, moorland or forest, the chances are there will be an existing footpath which either takes in the best viewpoints or follows the route taken by weary miners or farm workers to and from remote workplaces and therefore is the easiest route. But if you feel the need to exercise your right to roam by ploughing across rough terrain, natural and artificial barriers - crack on!
There are numerous “official” long distance walking routes created by linking these rights of way some are artificial but others are historic such as the Ridgeway Path which was an ancient route along which flint and other goods were carried and traded from the South Coast of England to the East. Camping, bunkhouse, bothy accommodation is easy to sort along these routes and if all else fails the occasional night in a pub like a medieval pilgrim is not the end of the world.
Personally I see the influence of man on the landscape as a plus not a minus. It would be great if the UK had some pristine wilderness but I’ll happily settle for countryside that is steeped in history and for the most part has been sensitively managed for farming for centuries if not millennia. Within less than a five mile radius of where I grew up ithere was an Iron Age hill fort, world class rock climbing and pot holing sites (admittedly neither of which are really my thing), important prehistoric sites, evidence of mineworkings dating back to Roman times and the site of a WW2 scale plan of the city of Bristol intended to be lit up at night to confuse German bombers. All of this in rolling limestone hills cut through with impressive gorges and covered with small fields divided up by ancient hedgerows and drystone walls with views over the Somerset levels with more Iron Age archaeology and associations Arthurian myths and legends including the location of the Holy Grail - unless you believe the monks in Axum, Ethiopia who also claim to have it.
This area is particularly rich in historical sites but by no means atypical of the British countryside and is as everywhere else in the UK, crisscrossed by rights of way. While I was living close to the centre of the UK’s second biggest city, I could do 20, 40 and 60 mile mountain bike rides off-road on old canals, railwaylines and forestry tracked (all Public Rights of Way), and probably see no more than a dozen other people unless there were a load of anglers out.
I’ve been back in Somerset over the last few weekends learning the traditional art of hedgelaying. Thirty plus farm lads and lasses, arborists, conservation workers and a few “civilians” mostly driving Land Rovers (proper working ones, not pimped weekend warrior wagons) turn up on a bleak hillside and set about turning an overgrown hedge into a work of art using chainsaws, axes, billhooks and saws - again all working tools not pristine treasured accessories. It’s more Jack Hargreaves than Ray Mears and no one would call it bushcraft (despite it being literally the crafting of bushes) but similar groups will be doing the same thing in other parts of the country (each region has its own style) during the winter months and regularly meet up for competitions.
Whether or not “bushcraft” is in the wane, there is a definite resurgence of interest in traditional British country crafts and skills and if anyone is struggling to find anything to chop with their shiny new GB axe, a few days hedgelaying will be an ideal opportunity.
We all have our own ideas of what bushcraft is and where we would like to do it but it is not helpful to fledgling bushcrafters in the UK if a major source of information such as this forum leaves them with the impression that unless they are in Scandinavia or Canada, they are wasting their time.
If you are genuinely passionate about the outdoors, nature and history there are enough areas of stunning and fascinating countryside including some pretty wild and wholly areas you can access to enjoy to keep you going for several lifetimes over before getting uptight about what you can’t access.