Giving tourists the real rural
message ...........Western Morning News, 25th August
Today, as the August Bank Holiday
weekend gets under way, thousands of visitors will be heading
into the Westcountry to enjoy the wide open spaces and rural
charm of our region. But those making for the hills of Exmoor are
likely to get a lesson in the harsh realities of country life,
along with the usual warm welcome that the Westcountry is noted
for. Campaigners who are fed up with the way so many rural issues
are being ignored by the government, are organising a day of
protest, in which visitors will be told: "Help - you are now
entering a threatened area." Leafleting will take place on
the main gateways to the moor and visitors, many from urban areas
in other parts of Britain, will be told how the farming crisis,
escalating fuel prices and declining rural services are seriously
threatening their communities. Many visitors might be tempted to
shrug their shoulders and ask what any of this has got to do with
them. Others might even be angry at the minor inconvenience this
demonstration could cause. But they should listen and take notice
of what the Exmoor protesters are telling them. Because it is a
message that could quite easily be repeated all across rural
Britain and it is one that all of us, whether we live in a rural
or urban area, need to be aware of.
Like the hugely successful Countryside Marches, held in London to draw attention to rural concerns, the Endangered Exmoor protest includes a strongly pro-hunting element. That will prompt some people to refuse to listen to the arguments. But, just as the Countryside Marches were about far more than just hunting, so this protest is about other issues too. And many rural dwellers, whether they support hunting or not, will be able to identify with the concerns expressed by the Endangered Exmoor demonstrators and apply them to their own circumstances in their own communities.
There has been a problem about getting the message across on rural deprivation. The divide between urban and rural Britain exists, whatever the Prime Minister likes to say. But getting outsiders to understand the problems on a sunny day surrounded by beautiful countryside in the Westcountry is not easy. Yet in many ways, as economic improvements lift the fortunes of urban dwellers, the gap between the prosperous South East and some parts of the struggling Westcounry is getting ever wider. While it is true, as we report today, that incomers are pouring into several of the favoured parts of the region, other areas, especially those where traditional industries like agriculture and fishing are under threat, continue to struggle.
Targeting holidaymakers on a Bank Holiday weekend is one way of trying to drive home that message. Getting visitors from other parts of the country to understand the frustrations and fears of many people who live in attractive upland regions like Exmoor is an important part of campaigning for change. Farm incomes in and around Exmoor were down nearly 70 per cent last year. Jobs are under threat and that, in turn, brings about concern for the management of the moor which could put the landscape at risk.
As Endangered Exmoor secretary Pat Bawden rightly said: "We have farms closing down, fuel prices escalating, rural services worse rather than better - the list is endless. Sadly the historic cheerfulness and resilience of the Exmoor people is almost exhausted. Now we are inviting our visitors to help understand." Let's hope they get the message.
The vast majority of visitors to beautiful areas like Exmoor would not want to see the area changed, the people forced to leave the land and the landscape dramatically altered through neglect. What looks like a wild and untamed wilderness to the untutored eye is, in fact, a carefully managed area and needs to be constantly cared for if it is to continue to support a wide diversity of wildlife and go on looking beautiful. If more farmers are forced to quit there will be too few people to manage the land. If services go on being eroded the pubs and shops that holidaymakers need and enjoy will be lost. Let's hope the visitors take home that message along with the other souvenirs this year.
END