Lockdown And Look Out. Has Our View Of The Great Outdoors Changed During Lockdown?
COVID-19 has forced us Brits to rethink a lot of our daily routine and activities. Throughout March the closing of all non-essential businesses and the inability to see friends and family outside your own household left many staring at the four walls of their home wondering what to do.
Then, much like the Proclaimers’ infamous number 1 hit in Iceland, everyone suddenly decided they were going to walk 500 Miles (and 500 more). Walking boots and cagoules at the ready, it seemed as though everyone in my village had joined the local rambler’s society. Living in County Durham is a privilege in the way that there are so many different routes and walks nearby, particularly near my village which is an hour walk from Beamish woods. So, what has my experience with the ‘great’ outdoors been during lockdown?
Being an avid dog-walker for the past ten years, I was already aware of many of the longer routes around my local area, one of which includes a walk through a valley, past a large pond and back up to the other end of the estate. Despite only being twenty minutes from Newcastle city centre, the tranquillity of this walk makes it easy to imagine yourself in the middle of nowhere, which became quite a welcome retreat after spending every waking minute of the day with the same family members.
The lush fields and forest areas also house many of the local wildlife including deer, hares, red kites, herons and squirrels. The solitary swan which inhabits the large pond at the bottom of the valley soon became somewhat of a local celebrity, with locals posting updates about the swan’s activities each day on the local resident’s Facebook page. The swan’s muddy feathers were of particular concern to many of the residents, with some even questioning how one would go about bathing a swan. After googling that swans can reach the height of 4ft when stood up, this is not a task I would embark on or recommend attempting.
The Facebook page itself became more like the ‘Springwatch’ calendar competition with both professionals and amateurs sharing their photos of the local wildlife. During one walk I had a rather close encounter with a stag, which nearly trampled me as it bounded through the woods to the nearby stream below me. Initially, without my glasses on, I was rather alarmed by the speed at which an ‘Alsatian’ was bounding towards me, until of course the stag leapt into my area of vision and further made eye contact with me. I don’t think you get more ‘at one with nature’ than that. Just call me Sam Attenborough. The page also became a space for residents to share their favourite walking routes with others and enabled people to explore more of their local area.
Spending time walking became for many the only saving grace in a day of lockdown, a way to improve both physical and mental health as well as breaking up a rather mundane daily routine. One way local residents encouraged their families to spend time outside and to brighten up walks was by painting stones and placing them around the village for others to find and then move elsewhere. The scavenger hunts were documented on the local Facebook page with celebratory responses for those who had managed to locate the stones.
Unfortunately for those who picked up the stones with their hands, my dog had also found the stones during a walk and decided they looked particularly appealing to wee on. If you put the stones on your kitchen bench without at least spraying them with some Dettol, that’s on you. The local hill became a replacement for Zoom quizzes with printed and laminated general knowledge questions being stuck to every lamppost in sight. In this way, the ‘great outdoors’ became a way for residents to reconnect without breaking lockdown regulations.
However, has our outdoor experience in lockdown been something we have taken for granted? During lockdown, both pollution and litter levels decreased, with more people enjoying nature without the damaging effects we are all so used to. The re-opening of fast food restaurants and drive-thru McDonalds immediately presented an increase in litter and as soon as pub doors opened it seemed as though we had forgotten all about walking in our local area, unless it was in the direction of the pub.
With a second lockdown on the cards (and a local lockdown being enforced at the time of writing) how will our newfound relationship with the local outdoors be affected? Have we moved on from the honeymoon period of this partnership and become disillusioned with nature, as the lights of shopping centres and beer goggles cloud our vision? I have been wholly supporting local businesses during this time but why is it that there seems to be only room for one or the other in our lives, with walking outside being regarded as a last resort for when we have exhausted all other forms of entertainment. Does it not make more sense to pair these things together? After all a walk in the fresh air has been known to miraculously cure hangovers.
With darker nights and colder weather encroaching upon us will we feel as motivated to go for an evening stroll, or is our appreciation for the local outdoors merely a summer fling? Although I don’t know the answers to these questions, I do know I have enjoyed rediscovering my local outdoors during lockdown and actually spending time walking my now OAP dog. He would probably disagree though; the novelty has worn off for him and the call for ‘walkies’ is met with him burying into his bed rather than running to the door. Does my dog represent the voice of a nation, or will we happily leave our lazy pooches at home and continue to enjoy the outdoors for ourselves in the coming months?
Written by Sam Turnbull
Sam has just graduated from Newcastle University where she studied English Literature and French. Sam has recently moved back home with her parents and enjoys long walks with her dog George, pints of Desperados on draft, karaoke, pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.