Information and Advisory Note Number 27 Back to menu
1.1 This note provides a guide to the sources of information about recreational use of the Scottish countryside. It describes the main sources of Scottish survey data, mostly undertaken by the former Countryside Commission for Scotland and now by SNH, although other organisations have often been closely involved, particularly in relation to tourism and sport. This note focuses on market research surveys of participants and their activities; that is, the social science elements of recreation.
2.1 Before the 1970's there were very few surveys of participation in countryside recreation. Most early data comes from long-established recreation sites where there is some element of turnstile recording, or from surrogate data such as membership of recreation organisations or youth hostel bed-nights. Even since 1970, only a little data about trends in open-air recreation exist. There are a number of reasons for this poor information on long-term trends, in particular
2.2 Also, successful data collection needs a clear management framework to define
the information needed, to specify the outputs and take control of the whole
survey process. This may happen at managed sites, but has often been lacking in
the wider countryside.
2.3 Surveys of countryside recreation have been carried out at all scales from
broad national surveys to the very local. The main approaches to survey are
described below under five main heads:
3.1 The early approach in the 1970's and 80's was to run large all-purpose surveys, mounted collaboratively between agencies and involving in-home interviews of Scottish residents about their day trips and holiday trips. This was run in parallel with major cordon surveys of tourists leaving Scotland (by road, rail, sea and air) to ask about their recently completed visit. Two major surveys of this kind were conducted:
3.2 Each was sponsored by a number of agencies led mainly by CCS and the Scottish
Tourist Board (STB) and each produced several volumes of reports (see reference
list at the end). STARS collected information on patterns of holidaymaking in
Scotland and participation in active and passive outdoor recreation by Scottish
residents. SLS investigated holidays and day trips to the countryside and the
characteristics of both the trips and the visitors. It included an innovative
diary survey of the use of people's free time.
3.3 The data from these two surveys are now mainly historic and comparison between
them was limited because of changes in methodology and questionnaire. There is
unlikely to be any major survey of this kind in future: the costs are high, even
if shared between sponsors; the time taken to report on major surveys can be
lengthy; and there are practical impediments in running exit cordon surveys on
trunk roads and motorways where higher speed and density of traffic now make
interception of departing visitors difficult or impossible.
3.4 Between 1987-92 a number of public bodies in Scotland funded the Scottish
Leisure Day Trip Survey. This survey was run through questions placed in a
market research omnibus survey (that is, buying space in a commercially run
questionnaire) and it was mainly led by CCS and STB. The survey collected
information on participation in leisure day trips and characteristics of the
most recent trip, including the destination and activities done. The survey
reports are held in RAB and a summary review of data on trips to the coast and
countryside will be available shortly as SNH Research, Survey and Monitoring
Report No.10.
3.5 Since 1992, a national consortium of agencies and Government Departments has
sponsored the UK Day Visit Survey. The
sponsors are the Department of National Heritage, the Countryside Commission,
Wales Tourist Board, Countryside Council for Wales, British Waterways Board,
Forestry Commission and in Scotland the lead has been by SNH and STB. The first
full year of survey was completed in 1994, following a first pilot in 1992 and a
major pilot in 1993. The survey is also being run in 1996 and it is likely to be
the main survey gathering day trip data in the future.
3.6 The UKDVS collects information on participation in different types of day
trip, and on the characteristics of respondents and their leisure visits. The
report on the major 1993 pilot survey has been published by the Countryside
Recreation Network, soon to be followed by the 1994 report (see reference list).
Data from the surveys are held by RAB, and a summary of the 1994 results
concerning trips to the countryside and coast in Scotland will be published
shortly as SNH Research, Survey and Monitoring Report No.42.
3.7 Detailed comparisons between the UKDVS and earlier surveys are not possible
because of changes in methodology and questionnaire. One of the main changes is
that the definition of a leisure day trip differs between surveys. There were
also differences in the sampling approach. The Scottish Leisure Day Trip Survey
used a quota sample (that is, a randomised selection of individuals for survey
within different social categories), while the UKDVS uses a random probability
sample (a much more expensive approach).
4.1 In addition to surveys mentioned above, which are specifically focused on
countryside recreation, there are other general surveys which have relevance to
our interests.
4.2 The General Household Survey (GHS) provides the longest running set of data on
leisure. This survey is one of the major social science surveys run by Office of
Population and Census Statistics (OPCS) on behalf of Government. Leisure
questions appear every third year (1986,1989,1992), but the questions are
heavily dominated by sport and the time taken to report is usually long. The GHS
therefore provides little useful information on countryside recreation, except
that the large sample size provides some information on sporting activities with
low
levels of participation and it may allow some long-term trends to be monitored.
4.3 The Central Statistical Office prepares an annual publication called Social
Trends and the Scottish Office prepare the annual Scottish Abstract of
Statistics. Both contain a small amount of information on leisure activities,
mainly drawn from surveys run by Government and its agencies.
4.4 The Scottish Sports Council gather regular data on participation in sport in
Scotland through a few basic questions in a market research omnibus survey. The
results of these surveys, which are usually run bimonthly, are available from
the SSC as the Survey of Participation in Sports.
4.5 The major tourism surveys also collect some information about outdoor
recreation, in particular the UK Tourism Survey which is sponsored by the
national Tourist Boards. This is a very expensive survey with a large sample
which gathers information about the holiday activities and intentions of British
residents, but most of the data have a marketing emphasis. The survey includes
information on participation in outdoor recreation (e.g. walking, cycling,
swimming, golf), the length of visits and expenditure incurred. The survey does
not differentiate between urban, coastal and countryside trips.
4.6 Although there are two major surveys of overseas visitors to Britain
(International Passenger Survey and the Overseas Visitor Survey), these are
mainly focused on marketing and economic data and there is little information
about the recreation activities in Britain of visitors from abroad. RAB has just
undertaken a survey of European visitors' attitudes to access in the Scottish
countryside, and this will be published as SNH Research, Survey and Monitoring
Report No.32 shortly.
4.7 There is also a large amount of market research on leisure conducted by the
private and commercial sectors, but this is limited in its utility by its
commercial purpose and is not generally available.
4.8 Lastly, data relevant to recreation can emerge from other public sector
surveys, such as the National Traffic Survey, which is run continuously by the
Department of Transport to provide basic information about journeying for
commerce, social purposes and leisure, using all modes of transport including
walking and cycling.
5.1 There have been numerous recreation surveys of particular sites or areas in
the countryside, targeted either for recreation planning or management needs.
Many of the earlier surveys are now out-of-date, but some of them were located
in areas under pressure for tourism, such as Glen Nevis or Loch Lomond and may
still be the only relevant data for their location. In the late 1970's and
1980's CCS sponsored a series of surveys of recreation sites in the central belt
of Scotland, in particular the country parks, and also including a few urban
parks (see reference list). The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) have also
undertaken surveys of visitors to some of their countryside properties in 1983
and 1991.
5.2 In the 1980's there was a shift to more tourism-based surveys, including a
number of market research surveys of visitors to Scotland's islands including
Islay and Jura, Skye and Arran (see reference list). One theme on which CCS and
SNH has taken a special lead is survey of the use of long distance routes. The
West Highland Way has had three surveys, the most recent completed in 1994. The
Speyside Way was surveyed also for the first time in 1994 and the Southern
Upland Way will be surveyed next in 1996, the previous survey here being in 1984
(see reference list).
6.1 Sometimes it is best to target surveys on specific recreation activities,
either because the numbers of participants in the activity are small and an
adequate sample cannot be gathered from general recreation surveys, or where
there is a specific need for more detail on an activity of current interest. CCS
and SNH have been particularly concerned with walking and a 1990 survey of
Walking in the Countryside (SNH Research, Survey & Monitoring Report No. 4) was
repeated in 1995 (SNH Research, Survey & Monitoring Report No. 11). SNH aims to
undertake a programme of hillwalking surveys - a pilot at Ben Lawers was
undertaken in 1994 and there was a major survey of the use of the East Grampians
in 1995.
6.2 Increasingly the other agencies with an interest in tourism development and
promotion have been sponsoring targeted surveys of this kind, for example a
recent
activity holiday survey led by Scottish Enterprise (see reference list). The
Enterprise agencies are also interested in gathering data about the economic
benefits of open-air recreation and have promoted surveys of participants in
activities where development or marketing initiatives have been planned, for
example in downhill skiing.
6.3 For active sports the best general source
of current information lies in
- The Digest of Sport Statistics published by
the Sports Council, Scottish Sports Council &
Sports Council for Wales, and compiled by the
Centre for Leisure Research, 1995.
6.4 This is the third in a regular series of
compilations of data which bring together
existing survey data (often from the General
Household Survey mentioned earlier), from
club and membership records and other
surrogate sources about participation.
7.1 One of the weaknesses of the data
gathered on recreation in the countryside is
the lack of consistent long-term data to follow
trends. The General Household Survey
mentioned above has some potential for trend
analysis, although it had a major questionnaire
format change in the mid-1980's. The STB
collect turnstile-type data gathered by the
operators at a wide range of visitor attractions
and these are published annually in the
- Visitor Attraction Survey (Annual) -
Scottish Tourist Board.
7.2 Many site managers, especially in the
public and voluntary sectors, such as the
National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland,
the Forestry Commission or British Waterways
keep data about the use of specific sites,
either data from charging at carparks or from
traffic counters at carparks. CCS and SNH
have continued to promote better routine data
collection on visits to Country Parks and other
popular sites. There is a choice of automatic
people counters on the market (including one
developed by SNH) which provide the ability
to maintain continuous records of visitors to
key sites in the countryside. These counters
are usually located on footpaths and a few
sites have been monitored in this way since
1992. Thus we are now beginning to acquire
some basic data about levels of use at some
of the key countryside recreation sites. RAB's
intention is to maintain a network of counters at key locations appropriate for
long-term trend monitoring.
8.1 RAB provides a central source of survey information within SNH, and gives advice to internal and external enquiries. RAB manages the surveys which are conducted at a national level such as the walking survey and the UKDVS. RAB is also concerned with promoting good practice in survey methodology and, where possible, the use of standardised questions so that data from different surveys may be compared. The Visitor Monitoring Training Manual published by SNH gives guidance on the design of surveys at particular sites, and the National Trails User Survey Manual published by the Countryside Commission gives advice on surveys of Long Distance Route users (see reference list).
Contact: Debbie Greene, Recreation & Access Branch, 0131-446-2469.
9.1 National recreation surveys
UK Day visits Survey
The 1992 UK Day Visits Survey. Summary results pp7-13 in Countryside Recreation
Network News 1993 No.2
The 1993 UK Day Visits Survey. Summary results pp7-12 in Countryside Recreation
Network News 1994 No.1
The 1994 Day Visits Survey. Summary results in Countryside Recreation Network
News, June 1996, in press.
UK Day Visits Survey 1993. Prepared by Sue Walker for publication by the
Countryside Recreation Network, 1995.
UK Day Visits Survey 1994. In preparation by Sue Walker for publication by the
Countryside Recreation Network, 1996.
Leisure trips to the Scottish countryside and coast, 1994. SNH Research, Survey
& Monitoring Report No.42,1996.
Scottish Leisure Day Trip Survey
Leisure day trips to the Scottish countryside
and coast, 1987-1992. SNH Research, Survey & Monitoring Report No. 10,1996.
Daytrips to Scotland's Countryside 1987 to 1989. CCS, 1990
Report of a survey on leisure day trips in Scotland - Annual Report 1987.
Unpublished report by System Three Scotland, 1988.
Report of a survey on leisure day trips in Scotland - Annual Report 1988.
Unpublished report by System Three Scotland, 1989.
Leisure day trips in Scotland Annual Report
1989. Unpublished report by System Three
Scotland, 1990.
Leisure day trips in Scotland Annual Report
1990. Unpublished report by System Three
Scotland, 1991.
Leisure day trips in Scotland Annual Report
1991. Unpublished report by System Three
Scotland, 1992.
Leisure day trips in Scotland Annual Report 1992. Unpublished report by System
Three Scotland, 1992.
Scottish Leisure Survey
Scottish Leisure Survey Report No. 1 Recreation and holidays in the countryside.
1985, CCS
Scottish Leisure Survey Report No. 2 Changes in outdoor recreation 1973-84.
1985, CCS
Scottish Leisure Survey Report No. 3 Countryside recreation in daily life. 1985,
CCS
Scottish Leisure Survey Report No. 4 Patterns of countryside recreation trips.
1985, CCS
Scottish Tourism and Recreation Survey
STARS Series No. 1 Survey description. TRRU, 1975
STARS Series No. 2 Summary report. TRRU, 1975
STARS Series No. 3 Holidaymaking in Scotland. TRRU, 1976
STARS Series No. 4 The woodland visitor. TRRU, 1976
STARS Series No. 5 Patterns of outdoor recreation in Scotland. TRRU, 1976
Walking Surveys
A Survey of Walking in the Countryside in
Scotland 1990. System 3 Scotland. SNH
Research, Survey & Monitoring Report No. 3,
1991
A Survey of Public Attitudes to Walking and Access 1990. System 3 Scotland. SNH
Research, Survey and Monitoring Report No. 4, 1991
A Survey of Walking in the Countryside in Scotland 1995. System 3 Scotland. SNH
Research, Survey and Monitoring Report No. 11, 1996, In press.
European visitors perceptions and experiences of access to the Scottish
countryside. Macpherson Research. SNH
Research, Survey and Monitoring Report No.32, 1996, In press.
General Household Survey 1993. GHS No. 24, OPCS, Government Statistical Service,
London, HMSO.
National Travel Survey: 1991/93. Department of Transport, HMSO, London, 1994.
Scottish Abstract of Statistics 1994 No. 23. Scottish Office, Government
Statistical Service.
Scottish Visitor Attractions Survey. STB, (annual-latest 1994)
Social Trends. (Annual) Central Statistical Office, HMSO, London.
A study of Activity Holidays in Scotland. 1994. Study for Scottish Enterprise by
KPMG Peat Marwick & the Tourism Company.
Survey of participation in Sports (bi-monthly) unpublished reports for SSC by
System Three Scotland.
Tourism in Scotland. (Statistics) STB, annual
9.3 Site surveys
The list of site surveys below is incomplete. It lists the main site surveys
undertaken by CCS and SNH and a selection of other surveys undertaken by other
bodies, but the number of tourism and recreation surveys undertaken locally is
increasing and many are not known to RAB.
A Survey of Visitors to Arran and their Activities in the Countryside. Coulter,
F. et al; SNH Research Survey and Monitoring Report No. 5,1995.
Aviemore and Spey Valley Visitor Survey. Unpublished report to HIDB by Centre
for Leisure Research, 1989.
Cairngorm Visitor Survey 1987-88. Unpublished report to CCS by the ASH
Partnership, 1992.
Cairngorm Visitor Survey Summer 87. Report for the CCS, HIDB, HRC, NCC; by
Mackay Consultants, CCS, 1988.
Visits to the countryside and coast in
Lothian region published by ASH
Environmental Design Partnership on
behalf of CCS and various District
Councils
Report No. 1 - Survey of Use at Longniddry
and Gullane. 1985
Report No.2 - Survey of Use in North
Pentlands. 1985
Report No. 3 - Survey of Use in Roslin Glen
and Vogrie Estate Country Park. 1985
Report No. 4 - Survey of Use at Beecraigs
Country Park. 1985
Report No. 5 - Survey of Use at Polkemmet
Country Park. 1986
Report No. 6 - Survey of Use at Yellowcraig.
1986
Countryside Recreation in Central Scotland - A
Review of Market Surveys in Strathclyde and
Lothian Regions, 1977-1985. Report to CCS
by ASH Environmental Design Partnership,
1988.
A Study of Four Parks in and Around Glasgow. TRRU Project Report, 1980.
Glen Nevis - A Study of the Use of the Glen by Summer Visitors in 1972.
Unpublished report to CCS by Planning Research Unit.
Loch Lomond & Dunbarton Visitor Survey. 1992 Report by Centre for Leisure
Research for Loch Lomond Regional Park.
Recreation Traffic in Lothian. 1984 Published on behalf of CCS by the Centre for
Leisure Research.
Pollock Park, 1979; A Visitor Survey and Review of Management Implications. TRRU
Research Report No. 45, 1980.
Skye Tourism Survey 1990. System Three Scotland, 1991.
Strathclyde Park 1977; monitoring the use of a Country Park. TRRU Research
Report No. 39, 1978 (There have been subsequent surveys at Strathclyde Park).
Recreational Use of Union Canal, Summer 1980. Union Canal Project report.
Survey of Visitors to Properties 1982. National Trust for Scotland.
Survey of Visitors to Properties 1991. National Trust for Scotland.
A Descriptive Summary of a Survey of Visitors to the National Trust for Scotland
Properties. Unpublished report to NTS, CCS & STB by Survey Research Associates
Ltd, 1983.
9.4 Long distance route user surveys
Speyside Way Survey. January 1995. Market Research Scotland. Report No.
NE/94/001 to SNH.
The Southern Upland Way; Report of a survey of walkers in the summer of 1984.
Published by ASH on behalf of CCS, 1985.
The West Highland Way; Report of a survey of walkers on the long distance
footpath July to September 1981. Report by R. Aitken to CCS,
1982.
The West Highland Way. Report of a survey of walkers between April 1986 and
March 1987. Report by CLR and Mackay Associates to CCS, 1987.
The 1994 West Highland Way Users Survey. Unpublished report by Forgewood Market
Research Ltd to SNH, 1995.
9.5 Survey Methodology
Visitor Monitoring Training Manual. SNH, 1993.
National Trails User Survey Manual. Centre for Leisure Research. Countryside
Commission (CCX32), 1995.