The End of Hiking?

[happyhiker]

Read an article this week which suggested that once the "baby boomers" die out or become incapacitated, hiking is in danger of dieing out because young people are not taking it up. Presumably spending their time on screens?


Having been "dragged" on walks in their formative years, my own children eschewed hiking in their late teens/early twenties but then went back to it and now in their thirties still hike.


Being in the fortunate position of being retired, I do most of my hiking mid-week and obviously then, most younger non-retireds are working, so it is easy to gain the perspective that the majority on the fells are older.


What do others think and/or what do their own children do?

[Jac]

Had two good walks over the Easter weekend with daughter (aged **) and my two grandchildren (aged 12 and 6). Both walks were between 4 and 5 miles in the Teign valley and included a couple of steep hills which, of course, they ran up while I plodded. The first walk did include the easter egg hunt and later an ice cream!! (remember the weather?) at Castle Drogo. The secret with the younger one is taking time to explore/discover and play. The elder just likes walking and chats all the way (I now know exactly who fancies who and who is/is not going out with whom at school). As they walk they are absorbing all sorts of knowledge about nature, history and the countryside in general.
I hope they continue to walk in later life though will probably find other things take over at times in their lives. 

[adalard]

I thought the hiking/hill-walking "sector" was booming by all accounts?


Around the Peak District, I certainly see plenty of "young" people (and families with children of various ages) out on the hills and mountains - predominantly at weekend, as you point out, because of work commitments..


On Facebook there are people of all ages in walking/outdoors groups sharing their exploits and pictures and they're certainly not mostly baby boomers. Twitter too seems to have a wide age range for users that are walkers/outdoorsy (based on my own use of it).


(And inevitably there's a fair few misery guts complaining there are too many people out there every time there's been a TV programme about walks/hills - or just moaning that there are too many people out there now full stop, spoiling their own experience of being out there. They never seem to consider that they might be "spoiling" someone else's communion with nature themselves.  )


I tend to take articles like that with a pinch of salt to be honest. I think either they're written solely to provoke comments and drive traffic;  or they're just an attempt to fill content gaps - in the same way 24 hour news didn't really increase the amount of hard news we get but purely supplied a huge amount of opinion pieces and empty waffle between bulletins.

[Islandplodder]

In John Hillaby's 'Walking through Britain' he predicts that he will be one of the last people to try and walk LEJOG.  That was in the 60s and I reckon all he did was set a trend. If anything it's probably easier to do now with all the long distance trails.  We always tend to think everything will stop when we stop.
You hear it said that the young don't walk, but I was amazed how many young people I saw doing the West Highland Way as I walked down Loch Lomondside last summer.  OK, it is probably a minority of the young who take to the hills, but I suspect it always was.   And now I look round my neighbours and think how few of them would dream of going for a walk, it's probably a minority of the old, too.  It's just when you are part of that minority you don't realise how small it really is.
I remember when my boys were young I had to tell one of them we were going for a walk and the other we were going bird watching and try to stop them conferring.  One prefers running these days, the birdwatcher still doesn't walk much, unless there's something really good at the end of it, and he can get there with 2 small children.  In 25 years time, who knows?

[fernman]

Read an article this week

Where was this article, please?


I swear I never deliberately set out to influence my two sons when they were little, but we frequently had trips to the countryside and we never missed a summer holiday, which was usually camping.

I always remember coming home with them one Sunday, when they greeted their friends who were playing in the street with "We've just been to the woods!"
One little girl replied, "I went out too."
"Did you," I said, "Where did you go?"
She replied "We went to the pub."

Now they are adults, one son is a mad keen cyclist and has his own camping gear, while the other one and his partner have kitted themselves out with walking boots, rucksacks and waterproofs, and they too have their own camping equipment.

[jimbob]

On my way up to the shops this afternoon I got talking to the PE teacher who I know from the high school (Academy???) opposite us. He had just been in training some gymnasts ( inj his own time). I mentioned tis thread and he said that they have almost 100% either in the cadets or doing their DOE in the sixth form college. Seemingly quite common in High schools to see loads doing their DOE, a bit more unusual to see so many in the cadets according to him.

So either the article was written by a very lazy journalist or they have something  else on the agenda.

[Slowcoach]

When I started walking in the early 60’s it was pretty rare that I ever saw other walkers out in the Kent countryside. There were certainly far fewer walkers in the Lake District. I think that there are more “younger” people and families walking now than ever.

[Percy]

We saw father and 10 year old son fell runners on the top of Skiddaw yesterday. Plenty of young people out and about, both on their own and in family groups. As said upthread, the outdoors sector is booming.

[barewirewalker]

So either the article was written by a very lazy journalist or they have something  else on the agenda.

Your reference to lazy journalism struck a chord with me, sort of knee jerk mentality that comes from sound bite point scoring.


If I had followed my parents example I'd be wasting my time in golf club getting het up about petty rules and falling out with other members about meaningless hierarchy. I discovered mountains and rock climbing off my own bat, found myself to be a bit of an oddity at Agricultural College, which wasn't so bad as it gave me some healthy breaks from the compulsory secondary course of a Beer Drinking Degree, which I passed with ease and honours, though in later years I have found my liver to be in better condition than some of my contemporaries.


At the risk of upsetting a bee hive, the other agenda may not be too far away, for those of us, who have read the landowner's policy on sharing the countryside or not as it might seem; Their Common Sense Approach, which advocates trimming the network, rather than filling in the missing pieces and allowing a natural expansion, by demand led access, would seem to be sensible if the access network was about of decline.


(Encouraging a policy of 'Statementing de facto footpaths and other permissive ways' is becoming common in publications, which are likely to find an audience with landowners and country property owners)


Some years ago, I was intrigued by the figures English Nature published about the Pennine Way for contributed to the surrounding economy. By dividing the total by the length a approx. £8000 per mile was being earned in 1990. Figures quoted by sources in Scotland suggest that walking alone earns their economy 10 times more than all the Field Sports added together, the main reason for encouraging large scale privacy in the countryside. Does this add up to a glaring error in the CLA's Common sense approach, which is an organisation promoting the best interests of the countryside?


Lazy policy making, which does not investigate all it should and trying to make a shortcut to suit it's own political ends, is a common occurrence in 'sound bite' led debate. This goes hand in hand with lazy journalism.

[Mel]

Read an article this week which suggested that once the "baby boomers" die out or become incapacitated, hiking is in danger of dieing out because young people are not taking it up. Presumably spending their time on screens?


Having been "dragged" on walks in their formative years, my own children eschewed hiking in their late teens/early twenties but then went back to it and now in their thirties still hike.


Being in the fortunate position of being retired, I do most of my hiking mid-week and obviously then, most younger non-retireds are working, so it is easy to gain the perspective that the majority on the fells are older.


What do others think and/or what do their own children do?

I'm also curious to know which article you are referring to happyhiker.


Surely any hobby can have the same concerns?  I work alongside someone fresh out of college.  She loves mountain biking.  Her and her fella go on camping holidays with the aim to be out on their bikes.  At all other times she has her head in her phone 


Unless a teen / young adult takes up hiking as a hobby, why would they be out in the hills?  They might be playing 5 a side football, snooker, rock climbing, horseriding, skiing, kayaking, knitting, cramming for exams, learning to drive, engaging in a bit of recreational drug taking, drinking to excess, having sex, volunteering, caring for an elderly relative.  Who knows?


And anyone older?  If they don't take up hiking as a hobby, why would they be out in the hills?  They might be coaching that 5 a side football team, playing snooker, rock climbing, horseriding, skiing, kayaking, knitting, cramming for exams, learning to drive, engaging in a bit of recreational drug taking, drinking to excess, having sex, volunteering, caring for an elderly relative.  Who knows?


So I would be inclined to disagree that if you're young and you're not out on the hills then you must have your head in a phone.

[willow229]

I disagree, I think walking will always be popular across the age groups. Also judging by Instagram I think it’s very popular with the hipster/millennial generation.

[Islandplodder]

I think you hit the nail on the head, Mel

[BuzyG]

Walking is more popular than ever.  I was out on the Moors today and saw several groups of youngsters practicing for Ten Tors.  Whilst at the same time and unbeknown to me, my son and daughter had set of to walk 11 miles of the SW coast path.  Alas MrsG was at work, but still clocked up 6000 steps on her app.

[happyhiker]

To those who have asked which article, I regret I cannot remember where
I read this as I read a lot of articles in papers/periodicals I buy and follow on line. However, I don't think it makes much difference in that if I had made the assumption or posed the question, the discussion would have been the same.


In any event, I am pleased to see that the general view is that walking is as popular as ever and still being enjoyed by the young. This is no doubt due in part to popularisation by the likes of Claire Balding and Julia Bradbury.

[barewirewalker]

To those who have asked which article, I regret I cannot remember where

Still worthwhile mentioning and there may be some truth hidden within the sentiments expressed. I for one spent much of my childhood outdoors and unsupervised by adults. I have met many of my own generation, pre baby boomers, who had a like childhood and I can find many of the localities, where we would have roamed and played games without a trace of the type of activities we took part in then.


These areas are in the lowlands, not in national parks and since the 2000 CRoW Act the proliferation of privacy notices and a growing notion that any open space 2m either side of a right of Way is private land, there is a tendency for visitors to the countryside to be nervous of offended anyone they think might have authority.


There is a greater need for accuracy in map reading in lowland, arable areas, if you know exactly where you are and why it is that you have been forced off the righteous way, this gives confidence. There is a local in my pub, who sends the game keeper away with a flea in his ear every time he gets a caution in a wood, when he is collecting sweet chestnuts.
His self confidence is based on a history that goes back generations.


There is a great story in Ian Niall's Poachers Handbook about a local poacher in the Galway area. Black Jack was under surveillance by the local keeper, who was sure he was taking pheasants. Knowing this Black Jack took a sack and broom up to a wood, in clear view of the keeper's cottage, at dusk and making sure to follow the skyline so his silhouette would be seen. On his return, he was ambushed by the keeper and the local bobby, who were certain that he had a sackful of the squire's game and was carrying a shot gun.
All they found was Black Jack in possession of a yard broom and a sackful of leaf mould.


Too easy to forget that pre-1949 it was accepted local practice for cottagers to go into the woods to collect leaf mould to make their own potting compost, as much of their staple diet was grown in there own cottage gardens.


More youngsters can be encouraged out into the local countryside, to learn skill and independence, without putting additional overload on mountain rescue by cramming more and more into the national parks, the better.


This means safer routes that do not conflict with the highway system, unmarked additions the better maintained footpath network to make better continuity of way and challenge. The need for the occupiers of our countryside to recognize that there are many more destinations, features and viewpoints that should be open to all.