Public resource or private sanctuary?: access patterns and narratives from the woodland of North East Derbyshire

Set against a backdrop of a long and turbulent debate on access to the countryside, this thesis addresses gaps in knowledge on lived experience of access to woodland. The approach is geographically situated in ordinary wooded landscapes in North East Derbyshire and uses an approach which analyses physical evidence, archives, observation and interview narratives from a range of stakeholders. Using a sample of 58 woodlands the study finds that official access is limited, especially in privately owned woods. However, in almost half of the larger woods the public were roaming freely regardless of who owned the site. Observational evidence showed that more than 40% of the participants were using unofficial paths and were potentially trespassing. However, the definition of trespass is critiqued in this study. The public were largely using paths, oblivious of their status without reference to maps though some were utilising new media, such as on-line walks or YouTube videos. Interviews showed that the majority of people were using woodlands in a pursuit of calm, quiet or peace and valued having woodland close to their homes. However many were anxious about losing the wood to development though illegal use by motorcycles was a greater negative theme across all participant groups. Landowners were mixed in type with country estates owning the largest proportion of woods. However, the largest group of landowners were private individuals who usually owned just a small woodland plot. Changes in ownership caused conflict in some case study sites with members of the public showing resistance to new restrictions on access. However, landowners were universally resistant to the idea of any new rights for woodland users and themes of privacy and control were common to many of them. In addition many of the owners were motivated by the same pursuit of peace and tranquility common among the public participants. This may be translating into a desire to exclude the public from what they may see as their private sanctuary. Attitudes to public liability risks were also analysed and though this was a concern in around half of the participant landowners it was less important overall than privacy and control

'My wood isn’t one of those dark and scary ones': children’s experience and knowledge of woodland in the English rural landscape

Recent studies of children have argued that children are suffering from a deficiency in nature experience. Some argue that a lack of experience leads to poor affective relations which for wooded environments may be manifested as fear. This study investigates a geographical knowledge gap in understanding children’s relationships with woodland. This interactive qualitative study included 21 junior age children living in a rural setting in Derbyshire, England, UK. Most were found to visit local woodlands regularly, though unsupervised visits were usually limited to woods adjacent to housing. The children demonstrated good levels of practical knowledge though explicit knowledge, such as tree names, was generally poor. The majority children had positive attitudes towards woodland, especially those with the greatest experience. Adventure, calm and freedom were identified as major themes. Fear was widespread but rarely dominated and was often associated with exhilaration linked to cultural imaginaries such as computer games and films

'My wood isn’t one of those dark and scary ones': children’s experience and knowledge of woodland in the English rural landscape

Recent studies of children have argued that children are suffering from a deficiency in nature experience. Some argue that a lack of experience leads to poor affective relations which for wooded environments may be manifested as fear. This study investigates a geographical knowledge gap in understanding children’s relationships with woodland. This interactive qualitative study included 21 junior age children living in a rural setting in Derbyshire, England, UK. Most were found to visit local woodlands regularly, though unsupervised visits were usually limited to woods adjacent to housing. The children demonstrated good levels of practical knowledge though explicit knowledge, such as tree names, was generally poor. The majority children had positive attitudes towards woodland, especially those with the greatest experience. Adventure, calm and freedom were identified as major themes. Fear was widespread but rarely dominated and was often associated with exhilaration linked to cultural imaginaries such as computer games and films

Public resource or private sanctuary?: access patterns and narratives from the woodland of North East Derbyshire

Set against a backdrop of a long and turbulent debate on access to the countryside, this thesis addresses gaps in knowledge on lived experience of access to woodland. The approach is geographically situated in ordinary wooded landscapes in North East Derbyshire and uses an approach which analyses physical evidence, archives, observation and interview narratives from a range of stakeholders. Using a sample of 58 woodlands the study finds that official access is limited, especially in privately owned woods. However, in almost half of the larger woods the public were roaming freely regardless of who owned the site. Observational evidence showed that more than 40% of the participants were using unofficial paths and were potentially trespassing. However, the definition of trespass is critiqued in this study. The public were largely using paths, oblivious of their status without reference to maps though some were utilising new media, such as on-line walks or YouTube videos. Interviews showed that the majority of people were using woodlands in a pursuit of calm, quiet or peace and valued having woodland close to their homes. However many were anxious about losing the wood to development though illegal use by motorcycles was a greater negative theme across all participant groups. Landowners were mixed in type with country estates owning the largest proportion of woods. However, the largest group of landowners were private individuals who usually owned just a small woodland plot. Changes in ownership caused conflict in some case study sites with members of the public showing resistance to new restrictions on access. However, landowners were universally resistant to the idea of any new rights for woodland users and themes of privacy and control were common to many of them. In addition many of the owners were motivated by the same pursuit of peace and tranquility common among the public participants. This may be translating into a desire to exclude the public from what they may see as their private sanctuary. Attitudes to public liability risks were also analysed and though this was a concern in around half of the participant landowners it was less important overall than privacy and control

'My wood isn’t one of those dark and scary ones': children’s experience and knowledge of woodland in the English rural landscape

Recent studies of children have argued that children are suffering from a deficiency in nature experience. Some argue that a lack of experience leads to poor affective relations which for wooded environments may be manifested as fear. This study investigates a geographical knowledge gap in understanding children’s relationships with woodland. This interactive qualitative study included 21 junior age children living in a rural setting in Derbyshire, England, UK. Most were found to visit local woodlands regularly, though unsupervised visits were usually limited to woods adjacent to housing. The children demonstrated good levels of practical knowledge though explicit knowledge, such as tree names, was generally poor. The majority children had positive attitudes towards woodland, especially those with the greatest experience. Adventure, calm and freedom were identified as major themes. Fear was widespread but rarely dominated and was often associated with exhilaration linked to cultural imaginaries such as computer games and films