Promoting our Countryside as Part of our National Identity

Promoting our Countryside as Part of our National Identity

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has come up with a list of what defines our National Identity and it is interesting that many of these represent traditional values that will lie close to the hearts of most pub walkers.

The charity has created its "National List of Shared Treasures" as it wants to lobby Gordon Brown to promote them in his environmental policies. The list comprises:

• Classic countryside
• High quality food production
• Our finest landscapes
• A rich historic heritage
• World renowned cities towns and villages
• Access to local shops

For each one, the CPRE has defined the factors that make each item important to the nation, as well as key tests that will help us all to judge whether Mr Brown is serious in any stated intent to promote environmental policies. For example it cites the long-awaited formal confirmation of National Park status for the South Downs as a key test for "Our Finest Landscapes".

To read more about each of these "national icons", visit Countryside as part of our National Identity.

Today's pub walk: The King & Queen in Hamble, Hampshire.

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Walking for Exercise is Replacing Gym Membership

Walking for Exercise is Replacing Gym Membership

It seems that twenty and thirty-somethings are turning their backs on the gym in favour of keeping fit in the great outdoors. An incredible 72 per cent of 20 to 39-year-olds surveyed this month by the Ramblers' Association (RA) would rather go for a walk than work out in a gym.

And this is against a back-drop of another recent Sport England survey that confirmed walking as the most popular recreational activity with over 8 million of us walking at least once a month.

Pub walkers already know that walking is a great way to meet new friends and an excellent way to keep fit while enjoying fresh air and scenery instead of staring at a dull gym wall. And some of those savings on gym fees can be spent on enjoying some wholesome pub food and real ale as a "reward" for all that exercise. All in moderation of course!

To read more about the Ramblers Association's survey, click on Walking for Exercise is Replacing Gym Membership.

Today's pub walk: The White Hart (walk 2) in Campton, Bedfordshire.

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Pub Design Awards 2007

Pub Design Awards 2007

Do you know a pub that demonstrated real style and imagination in its recent refurbishment? Then why not nominate it for The Pub Design Awards 2007? There is much more to the pub experience than friendly service and high quality fayre, and the surroundings make a real contribution too.

CAMRA's Pub Design Awards, in association with the English Heritage and the Victorian Society, were first launched in 1983 to award pubs of innovative and imaginative design. The awards celebrate sympathetic preservation and restoration of remarkable historical interest interiors, as well as applauding new contemporary builds.

Information on how to nominate pubs, as well as names and pictures of last year's winners, can be found at Pub Design Awards 2007.

Today's pub walk: The West Bay in Bridport, Dorset.

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Coastal Access - Right to Roam our Coastline

Coastal Access - Right to Roam our English Coastline

Yesterday saw the start of the public consultation over coastal access. The question is whether the right to roam should be extended to grant uninterrupted public access along the length of the English coastline.

Natural England first presented their proposals to Defra earlier this year and I wrote about this then at Coastal Access is on its Way. Public support is very strong for a continual coastal corridor which would bring England into line with Scotland and shortly Wales. However it is strongly opposed by landowners and the battle is not yet won. Read more at Coastal Access and the right to roam our English coastline

To help maintain public and media focus on this initiative, MyFavouritePubWalks.com has decided to add a special "Favourite Coastal Pub Walk" category in its search for The Nation's Favourite Pub Walk. The additional prize will be a copy of "The Walkers Companion", published and donated by The Ramblers Association who have been strong campaigners for coastal access.

Today's participating pub: The Inn with the Well in Ogbourne St. George, Wiltshire.
Prizes offered: 1st - Meal for 2 with wine; 2nd - Bottle of Chianti or Pinot Grigio.

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Download Pub Walks Free until 30 September 2007

Download Pub Walks Free until 30 September 2007

The competition to find the Nation's Favourite Pub Walk has been extended following popular demand from pub walkers wanting to continue their search over the Summer holiday period.

With so many of us exploring new areas of the UK for our holidays and discovering new pub walks, as lead sponsors MyFavouritePubWalks.com felt it was only right to take this feedback on board. Pubs and walking feature high on the list of leisure activities on holiday and we often return having discovered some new gems that we love to share with others visiting the area.

So now everyone has until Sunday 9th September 2007 to enter their favourite pub walks into the competition, with the deadline for voting also extended by two monthts to 30 September.
See Update...

Today's pub walk: The Blue Bell Inn in Flintshire, Wales.

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