According to an annual survey by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) walking continues to be the most popular outdoor recreational activity among adults living in Scotland. Walking was the main activity on 73% of visits to the outdoors in 2012, with family outings next, and then cycling and mountain biking making up 4% of visits.
Each year SNH tracks the proportion of Scottish adults visiting the outdoors for leisure or recreation at least once a week. The survey for 2012 shows that 42% of Scottish adults were visiting the outdoors for leisure or recreation at least once a week, a 4% decrease from 2011 (46%). However, there has been no statistically significant change across the longer term (2006 – 2012) in the proportion of adults making weekly visits.
The proportion of visits made close to home (less than 2 miles travelling) is the same in 2012 as in 2011 (44%) and remains higher than in previous survey years (e.g. 30% in 2004). Total expenditure on visits to the outdoors in 2012 was estimated to be around £2.6 billion, down slightly on the previous year.
Commenting on the figures, Alan Macpherson from SNH said, “It’s reassuring to see that the long term trend for weekly visits to the outdoors remains stable, although we have seen some fluctuations year-on-year.
“Participation in outdoor recreation is subject to a variety of factors and influences, many of which are outside our control. It’s difficult to be certain of the reasons why there was a decrease in 2012, but there are a number of things that might have had an impact. The wet spring and summer weather, the fact that there was a lot of sport and other major events on television, including the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and even the recession might have discouraged people from getting out in their usual numbers. However it’s encouraging to see that the proportion of people visiting the outdoors close to home has remained stable at 44% (up from 30% in 2004), suggesting that people are enjoying their local outdoor spaces.”