Dunster Woodlands rambling in West Somerset
Last night, I was watching a television programme which stated that 25% all car journeys in the UK were for distances of less than 2 miles. The arguments the television programme put forward was that people should do much more walking or cycling to cover these short distances. Various sticks were discussed which might incentivise people to walk these distances, including, higher taxes, congestion charges and closing roads. As usual, legislation was also high on the list of preferred options to try to sort this problem out.
People who know me, will know that legislation is not one of my favourite solutions to anything. There are too many laws and, in general, they make our lives much worse.
County Gate in Exmoor National Park
I am writing this article from a very pleasant beauty spot on Exmoor, UK where there used to be a very nice map that explained about local wildlife and fauna. Unfortunately, it has been vandalised and removed. People who love this beauty spot, I have spoken to, shake their heads in wonder, asking why anybody would want to do something so unpleasant when there are such beautiful view to be enjoyed all around. Various opinions are usually then expressed as to what they would like to do to these vandals. None of them pleasant.
But the more we attack vandals and treat them harshly the more likely they are to continue behaving badly towards the rest of us. After all, they must lead pretty horrible lives if the most exciting thing they can do is to vandalised a metal map in a lovely rural beauty spot. Perhaps the answer to the vandalism is to identify these people who are living such dreadful lives and help them to improve their lives and have some real fun. Surely people who are living happy lives full of enjoyment would have no need for vandalism.
I know that there are many people who are not living happy lives who do not engage in vandalism. Some people just shoulder their unhappiness and get on with life in a decent sort of way. Perhaps, in truth, none of us live truly happy lives and we could all do with getting more fun from life and having less worry. Who amongst us would disagree with that?
How does all this relate to rambling? Well this is my devious plan.
Let’s put as much effort into advertising and promoting rambling as an enjoyable and pleasant past time as we would, say, put into selling an internationally branded product. Let’s increase the number of ramblers a hundred fold throughout our country. Advertisements would be needed to kick-start the campaign but, once it was rolling, word of mouth and seeing others enjoying themselves would be enough to keep the hobby growing.
Let’s become a nation of ramblers. A two mile walk for a rambler is just a beginning. People wouldn’t have to be forced to walk two mile journeys, you just wouldn’t be able to stop them!
If the only solution we can find to solving social problems in the UK is aggression, regulation and unpleasantness towards other people in our community, our society will be the poorer for it.
If, instead, we focus on making our society a happier and more pleasant place to live and see happiness as a target and a solution to many of society’s problems, we must surely end up with a better, more pleasant country to live in.
Let’s promote rambling as one of the keys to solving the UK traffic congestion crisis.
Bye for now
Rob
(Rob Hopcott – online author and keen unofficial rambler)
