Outdoors for all

Leading national governing bodies and environmental organisations have joined together to support an Outdoors For All manifesto, seeking to extend responsible access to more green and blue landscapes. The Trail Riders Fellowship is proud to be part of the initiative.

Signatories include representatives from horse riding, rambling, cycling and Trail Riding and many more. The manifesto also has the support of National Trust, The Canal & Rivers Trust, The Wildlife Trust and Campaign For National Parks.

The government has set its sights on getting 3.5m more people active by 2030, through its “Get Active” Strategy. It has also committed to giving the public access to green and blue spaces within a 15-minute walk of home, through its Environmental Improvement Plan.

The Outdoors For All manifesto argues that to meet these targets, rights to responsibly access the outdoors must be expanded.

Less than 4% of rivers in England have an uncontested public right of access. The path network is frequently inaccessible and 19.6m people do not live within a 15-minute walk of green and blue spaces.

Access land which gives us our current and limited right to roam, covers just 8% of England. This right extends only to those on foot and excludes others such as equestrians, paddlers and cyclists

Physical inactivity is associated with 1 in 6 deaths in the UK and is estimated to cost the country £7.4bn annually (including £0.9bn to the NHS). Our population is 20% less active than in the 1960s and is forecast to be 30% less active by 2030. It is estimated that good access to green and blue spaces would save an astonishing £2.1bn in health spending every year.

“The evidence is loud and clear - being active in nature helps people grow, live and age well. However the lack of natural places in many neighbourhoods across the country is impacting people’s mental and physical health, leading to shorter lives and fewer years spent in good health. There are structural barriers, such as access to public transport, as well as social inequity, which means that some people from ethnic minority groups, for example, are less likely to access nature. This is unacceptable, but it is also avoidable. It is time to create good and equitable access to natural places for all”.

The Wildlife Trusts

"We are pleased to be part of the Outdoors For All coalition. Getting out and about with horses provides proven significant health benefits and access to off-road routes and places provides safe environment for equestrians to enjoy the outdoors. But currently, riders have access to only 22% of the rights of way network, and carriage drivers to just 5%, and this needs to greatly improve.’ Through this coalition, we have a great opportunity to work collaboratively to make sure the great outdoors is available for everyone to enjoy for future generations to come.”

British Horse Society

“The Outdoor industries are delighted to support this document - our core mission is to Get more people , more active outside, and many of the proposals and recommendations in this document supports just that. We look forward to the response from all political parties, and their proposals on how to link the outdoors to health and many other positive incomes for the UK in their own 2024 manifestos."

Outdoor Industries Association

"The outdoors really is for everyone and the past few years have demonstrated this. And yet those in power have yet to fully realise the huge health, economic, and social benefits of this – for too long access to our green and blue spaces has not been seen as a priority and it’s heart-warming to know that so many of us believe this needs to change. The BMC is proud to support this partnership vision for action.”

British Mountaineering Council

“Outdoors For All calls on government and authorities to address the inequalities in public access so that everyone can better explore, enjoy and benefit from access to the countryside. Beyond this, it demonstrates how organisations within the sport and recreation sector who share a love for nature, respect the freedom of all users to access the countryside in their preferred manner. This helps build a more inclusive and tolerant society whilst contributing to the rural economy and communities.”

Trail Riders Fellowship

Outdoors for All

Leading national governing bodies and environmental organisations have joined together to support an Outdoors For All manifesto, seeking to extend responsible access to more green and blue landscapes.

Green Roads for All

Britain is blessed with some of the most incredible countryside in the world, a place that should be shared, enjoyed and respected by all no matter how they choose to explore it.

The Green Road Network provides unique public access to this rural landscape unlike any other, but sadly a minority seeks to misrepresent these public roads and the historic rural enjoyment of exploring them by motorcycle.

Green Roads for All takes a closer look at facts around the Green Road Network and the value of Trail Riding to the environment, public access, rural communities, local and national economies as well as the health and wellbeing of riders.