Recreation

The Forestry Commission obtains information about woodland visits and visitors from the household surveys and on-site monitoring programmes.

Visits to woodland

The information in Table 5.1 is taken from UK Day Visits Surveys (1994, 1996 and 1998), and the GB Day Visits Survey (2002/3), which collected data about day trips from home during these years. The 1994, 1996 and 1998 surveys covered a calendar year, while the 2002/3 survey covered a 12-month period starting in March 2002. Despite the name of the early surveys, they did not cover visits by people living in Northern Ireland. Visits to overseas destinations were also excluded. Although the methodology used in the 2002/3 survey was largely the same as in earlier surveys, differences between practices in the two surveys may be responsible for some of the differences in results.

Table 5.2 shows the main characteristics of woodland visits in 2002/3. Similar information for the 1996 and 1998 surveys is provided in Forestry Statistics 2002.

The GB Day Visits Survey was a sample survey, so the results are subject to the effects of chance, depending on the sample achieved. Confidence limits apply to all results from the survey. For example, when confidence limits are included, the first line of data in Table 5.2 gives figures of 8%±10.9% in GB, 8%±11.0% in England, 9%±11.7% in Scotland and 7%±11.5% in Wales. Further information about confidence limits can be found in the GB Leisure Day Visits Survey 2002/3 Technical Report.

It is estimated that around 252 million day visits from home were made to woodland in GB in 2002/3. Of those surveyed in 2002/3, 8% had visited woodland in the previous 2-week period, while 40% had visited woodland in the last year.

Source: 1994, 1996 & 1998: UK Day Visits Survey, carried out by National Centre for Social Research (not National Statistics). 2002/3: GB Day Visits Survey, carried out by TNS Travel & Tourism (not National Statistics).

Source: 2002/3 GB Day Visits Survey (not National Statistics).

1. 'Most recent woodland visit' figures refer to % of respondents, others refer to % of trips.

Scotland

In Scotland, the Day Visits Survey has been replaced by the Scottish Recreation Survey. This survey measures and collects details about the Scottish population's participation in outdoor recreation in Scotland. The Scottish Recreation Survey began in July 2003 and will run for ten years, with 1,000 adults being interviewed each month. The focus of the Scottish Recreation Survey and the methodology used is different from that of the Day Visits Survey, so results from the two surveys may not be comparable.

In 2003/4 an estimated 53 million recreation visits were made by the Scottish population to woodland in Scotland, either as a main destination or other destination; (22 million to Forestry Commission woodland, 31 million to other woodland). It is estimated that during 2004/5, 24 million recreational visits were made to Forestry Commission woodland and 26 million recreational visits were made to other woodland.

Table 5.3 shows the findings relating to recreation visits from the first two years of the Scottish Recreation Survey where the main destination was woodland.

Source: Scottish Recreation Survey - respondents whose main destination of last trip was woodland, carried out by TNS (not National Statistics).

1. Percentage of respondents whose main destination of last trip was woodland.

England

An England Leisure Visits Survey was carried out in 2005, and is due to report in late 2006.

Public Opinion

The Public Opinion of Forestry Survey is carried out every 2 years and covers people's attitudes to forestry and forestry-related issues, including visits to woodland.

The Public Opinion of Forestry Survey 2005 (not National Statistics) is a set of four surveys of representative samples of adults covering:

• 4000 across Great Britain;
• 1000 across Scotland;
• 1000 across Wales; and
• 1000 across Northern Ireland

The information in Figures 5.1 and 5.2 and Tables 5.4 and 5.5 is taken from the GB and country reports on the 2005 survey, which included comparisons with previous surveys. The survey was carried out in March 2005. Results from the GB survey of 4000 adults are accurate to within +/-2.3% for questions where all respondents gave an answer.

In the 2005 survey, 65% of respondents said they had visited woodland in the last few years for walks, picnics or other recreation.

Source: Public Opinion of Forestry Survey 2005 (not National Statistics).

Those who had visited woodland were asked how frequently they had visited during the previous summer and winter. Figure 5.1 shows that the respondents visited much more often during the summer, with 60% visiting at least once a month in summer 2004 compared with 28% in winter 2004/5.

Figure 5.1 Frequency of visits to woodland

Source: Public Opinion of Forestry Survey 2005 (not National Statistics).

Respondents were also asked who they thought owned any of the forests or woodlands they had visited (Table 5.5). Voluntary bodies (e.g. National Trust, Woodland Trust) and the Forestry Commission/Forest Enterprise were the most popular responses (more than one response was possible for this question).

Source: Public Opinion of Forestry Survey 2005 (not National Statistics).

Respondents to the survey were asked to identify the factors that were important to them when choosing to visit a woodland. Wildlife (64%), peace and quiet (61%), attractive scenery (58%) and a safe environment (53%) were the most frequently stated reasons.

Figure 5.2 Factors important when choosing to visit a woodland

Source: Public Opinion of Forestry Survey 2005 (not National Statistics).

On-Site Visitor Monitoring

Until 2002, a visitor monitoring programme (not National Statistics) was carried out at selected Forestry Commission woodland sites in England, Scotland and Wales. Year-on-year changes in visitor numbers were estimated by the Trends Index, which used data from traffic counters and other counters (Visitor Monitoring Trends Index Report). Information about visitors and their views on facilities were collected by on-site visitor surveys and the results summarised in Forest Visitor Surveys.

In 2002 and 2003, the Forestry Commission developed new visitor monitoring systems to replace the existing national visitor monitoring programme. The “All Forests Visitor Monitoring” survey provides more accurate estimates of the number of visits to Forestry Commission woodland, whilst continuing to gather information on the profile of visitors. This survey has been adopted in Wales (over a 1 year period) and Scotland (over a 3 year period), with surveying starting in 2004. The “Quality of Experience” survey combines quantitative and qualitative methods to measure the quality of visitor experience at a site. This survey was adopted in England in 2004 and in Wales in 2006, with 5-6 surveys now being carried out per year at selected sites. Reports from these surveys are published on the Forestry Commission website when results become available.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland in 2005-06, 433 thousand people visited those Forest Service sites where an admission charge was made.

Source: Forest Service.

1. Only covers sites for which an admission charge is made.

Woodland recreation facilities

Forest Parks are areas of Forestry Commission land which are of national importance for recreation. Recreation facilities are also available at many smaller woodland sites. Information is only available for Forestry Commission woodland, but many woodland sites managed by local authorities, voluntary organisations, and other private owners also provide recreation facilities. Forest Parks cover around 145 thousand hectares in Scotland, 135 thousand hectares in England and around 16 thousand hectares in Wales. The largest is Galloway Forest Park, which covers a total area of 77 thousand hectares, followed by Kielder Forest Park, at 60 thousand hectares.

Source: Forestry Commission.

Table 5.8 presents information on Forestry Commission recreation facilities and activities that were included on the Forestry Commission website in August 2006. A total of 653 sites were featured on the website: 294 (45%) in Scotland, 242 (37%) in England and 117 (18%) in Wales.

84% of sites had parking facilities and 76% included walking activities.

Source: Forestry Commission.

1. Number of sites where a given facility or activity is present. These data are not directly comparable with numbers published for years before 2003.
2. A small number of facilities or activities are double counted as they appear more than once in the database used for the website.

Community Forests

England's 12 Community Forests are the product of a partnership between the Forestry Commission, the Countryside Agency and a host of other local and national partnerships. Since their inception in 1991, the Community Forests have helped to revitalise areas around many of England's towns and cities, delivering economic, social and environmental benefits to local communities.

Table 5.9 provides information on the 12 Community Forests in England and five other community forestry initiatives in Great Britain. These 17 community forests cover a land area of 1.1 million hectares. A total of 27 thousand hectares of new planting had been achieved by March 2006. This has increased the woodland cover in these forests from an initial 6% to 9% of the total area by March 2006.

Source: Forestry Commission.

1. Area is total area designated as extent of Community Forest. Only a limited proportion of this will ever be covered by trees.
2. The population is usually the population living within 20 km. In a few cases however, it is the population of the area served, which may represent a larger area (e.g. those living within a 90 minute drive for the National Forest).
3. New planting figures for Central Scotland Forest in 2005-06 are not yet available. These figures are the new planting achieved to March 2005.

Print this page  | Back to top ˆˆ