Countryside Access

The Great British countryside is a wonderful place and, like many people, I like to spend time in the great outdoors getting some healthy recreation and enjoying the landscape around me.

It is vital that we look after the countryside responsibly, not only for ourselves, but for the generations to come.  Good stewardship often means finding an appropriate balance between the needs of different groups of people: landowners; farmers; tourists; developers; walkers; riders, and so on.  Sometimes conflicts of interest seem to arise, but usually solutions or compromises can be found that safeguards the rights of all.

My website contains a number of resources relating to countryside access, and information about some of the projects in which I have been involved.  The menu on the left will take you to:

Countryside Factbase - links to external websites that explain countryside and highway law and access rights; recommended books on the subject, and a list of abbreviations that are often used.

QR Trails - an example of how modern smartphone technology can be used to provide interesting and location-specific information on a walking trail.

Google Earth Tours - an example of using multimedia internet technology to dynamically show what a walk will look like, before going out to try it for real in the great outdoors.  It may tempt more people to go into the countryside, knowing the route in advance, and being able to see if the terrain is favourable (not too hilly for example). 

Information about the Mid and West Berkshire Local Access Forum. 

I hope you find something of interest here.

John Walmsley

• BSc (Mathematics, University of Sheffield)
• MSc (Countryside Access Management, Sheffield Hallam University)
• MBCS (Member of the British Computer Society)
• CEng (Chartered Engineer)
• CITP (Chartered IT Professional)

contact me via Twitter @JohnWalmsley5