UKC

How many people in the U.K. and Ireland participate in hillwalking?

ossian

In reply to ossian:

I'm not too sure, but I'm betting that the figure will be an integer.

In reply to ossian:

37?

I got a figure from the Ramblers within 10 seconds.

In reply to toad:

It's been the fastest-growing participation sport for 87 years now. So there must be at least 88. Maybe even a hundred. Who knows - the sky is literally the limit.

In reply to ossian:

Expecting a simple answer?

Even Sport England are struggling to work out who and how to count numbers.

In reply to ossian:

Is this in fact a trick question in that, unlike dog walking, it's not possible for a person to take a hill for a walk?... With the exception of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, of course.

In reply to ossian:

Not a population figure but there were 73 million visits to 'mountains' in England in 2012-13 survey year according to the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment report

http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5331309618528256?cate...

In reply to ossian:

Clearly this is a disgrace that we don't have a figure. I suggest that we all email the government telling them that we are hillwalkers and then they can just use Outlook to add up all the emails.

In reply to Clarence:

Problem is in the definition of hillwalker, from my understanding sport england want a to judge it on numbers of hours of participate.

Further problems is the question of 'what is hillwalking', do climbers tramping to far of crags count, what about scramblers, dog walkers in rural areas.

The BMC are trying to sort the mess but SE know better and wont budge on a straight question of 'do you spend 2 hours a week hill walking' in participation surveys.

In reply to ossian:

any other questions ossian?, that one seems to have been answered quite sufficiently.

In reply to ossian:

Is 'participate in hill walking' the same as 'go hillwalking', or does that include ancilliary support activities, such as sandwich making?

In reply to ossian:

I would guess we would number in the millions.

Half of this number can be found any summer weekend on the tourist track up the Ben..

In reply to mgco3:



This sir is a lie, as three quarters are dropping banana skins between Llanberis and some popular hillock nearby.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

What is it with people and banana skins?

"The John Muir Trust said the skins could take up to two years to biodegrade in the cold temperatures on Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands.

They have been dumped on paths and buried in snow by walkers and climbers.

The trust said as many as 1,000 could be found on the summit plateau of the 4,409 ft (1,334m) mountain."

Bananas give me the shits at the best of times. I certainly wouldnt chance eating one whilst up a mountain.

In reply to mgco3:



Me and you both bud, far too stringy, bitter and hard to digest, much easier to simply carry them back down the hill and pop them in a bin

In reply to mgco3:

According to the Saturday eye there won't be many bananas soon. Problem solved.