To date, estimates of individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for access to the
countryside have typically been on sites of special interest such as developed walking
routes, public rights of way in specific areas, national parks and forests (see
Lockwood and Tracy, 1995; Bennett and Tranter, 1997; Crabtree and MacDonald,
1997; Liston-Heyes and Heyes, 1999; Garrod et al., 1998; Bennett et al., 2003;
Buckley et al., 2009; Morris et al., 2009). There has been little if any attempt to
derive estimates of individuals’ WTP for the provision of walking trails in the wider
countryside at a national level. The present study aims to build on previous work by
examining the demand for particular types of walking trails through a nationally
representative survey of the Irish population. One further advantage of this research is that apart from valuing walking activities in
a generic sense this paper investigates what types of investment in facilities associated
with walking trails generate the greatest welfare gains. Furthermore, using a
nationally representative survey of the farming population this paper examines
farmers’ willingness to participate in a hypothetical walking scheme whereby the
general public will be allowed access to specific trails. First by way of background
this paper will discuss the situation in relation to access rights to the countryside
across a number of countries. Second this paper will outline the research approach
which is followed with a discussion of the empirical results. Finally this paper will
conclude with a discussion of the papers main findings and their implications for the
provision of public access to the countryside.This work was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under the Stimulus Funding
