Get out … into the countryside

<<< Cyclists Touring Club sign. MERL 2009/63[/caption]

Be it a day trip or holiday, the benefits of the visiting the countryside include:

• Cleaner air and less noise
• Great views and scenery
• Places to walk and cycle
• Taking a break from stresses of everyday life to improve your mental health

Rural and urban life has always been interconnected. Historically people from towns have visited the countryside for relaxation, work and for the safety it offers. Harvesting hops in the Kentish hop fields was a working holiday for many poor city dwellers from the 1860s to 1950s. During World War II children were evacuated away from towns and cities to escape urban bombing. Today, pastimes like cycling, bird watching, horse riding and fishing are all ways to explore and enjoy the countryside.

The countryside is accessible through multiple transport options. Railways link the countryside and industry with towns and places of consumption. By the 1870s, railway passenger travel was firmly established. Bicycling increased in popularity in the 1880s and 1890s bringing transport ownership to a wide range of the population. By the 1930s the motor car had a dramatic impact upon country life by drawing more people out of the towns and into the countryside for leisure purposes, enabling more people to live in the country and work in the town.

Why not?

Whatever your reason or however you do it why don’t you get out into the countryside today?