Recently I visited my grandparent's house, in the North York Moors. Whilst only staying there for a long weekend, it reminded me of the incredible differences between rural and urban England, and why it's important to go out and explore the beautiful English countryside.
Wherever you choose to visit across the UK, the beautiful south coast with Dorset, the Cotswolds, Snowdonia, the Peak District or the Scottish Highlands. The feeling you get while walking through these incredible places is incomparable.
The stark difference between growing up in rural areas and cities is incredible. The sense of community that's built by living in areas with so few people compared to living in a city not knowing half the people on your street. For myself growing up in London, I've barely interacted with those living a few doors down, hearing stories from my Dad, who grew up in Royston, where he would work on his neighbour's farm during the summer, seems an insane idea to myself.
I think my main point is that rural areas, not only provide a sense of greater belonging with a stronger sense of community, but also are worryingly in decline. Since mass urbanisation last century, this has left many villages and towns across the UK with even sparser populations generally consisting of older populations. The natural beauty of these places is enhanced by those that live in these areas and care for their environment. Should we want to see an existence of communities in rural areas, we need to act to protect them.
