Middle-class mothers have turned the countryside into a no-go zone for their children because they are worried about them getting dirty, according to research.

They are scared that day trips into the great outdoors could end with their children getting lost, hurt or muddy.

Instead, the study found most middleclass parents limited their excursions to safe country parks and farms that catered for families.

Daily Mail article

Hmmm, is this why some mountain-bikers prefer trail centres???

(Apologies for sullying the forum with a Daily Mail link)

Weak journalism pushing a view and spinning a story to back it up. It's not just the Daily Fail that does this. BBC is as bad these days. As they say never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

country parks and farms that catered for families.

So families favour venues that cater for families. Wowsers

This is as bad as the 'Chips make you happy' article from last week.

Cancer gives you red wine!

Or something.

Last time I looked I thought it was urban working class that were disenfranchised or something- aren't there funded programs targeted at getting them into the National Parks?

vinnyeh – Member
Last time I looked I thought it was urban working class that were disenfranchised or something- aren't there funded programs targeted at getting them into the National Parks?

Yes, certainly LDNP dropped it's guided ranger walks a while ago, as the only people turning out were white "middle classes".

while i cant abide the DM
poor journalism is not restricted to there

The Weight Gain Diet – Guardian

a story with no substance and comments in the main by people who have to concentrate on losing weight

I witnessed a large herd of free-range middle class mothers with their young grazing on some scrubland near to the woods that I ride in.. Quite remarkable.. I tried to get some footage but they must have caught my scent as they spooked way before I was in earshot..

spectacular markings on the dominant female too.. a rare treat

This is as bad as the 'Chips make you happy' article from last week.

but chips do make me happy 🙂

Its an improvement on the last Mail article about 'the countryside' i read. Which you could summarise as:

"Those bloody darkees don't like wandering around in the countryside like PROPER English-folk do they? Thats a bit odd isn't it? Very suspicious if you ask me"

The next article will be about middle class mountain bikers & how they are worried that their bikes will get scratched & how to cover them with heli tape etc. 🙂

Chips do make you happy!

Hmmmn, the same article appeared almost word for word in yesterdays Telegraph, page 5.

Strikes a cord TBH. Talk to so many of my non-outdoorsy mates and their kids and this is the reaction we get.
They seem to have a deep seated generalised fear of the outdoors.
They have no conception that playing outside in the mud can be fun, have a fear of getting lost and a suspicion of anyone they don't know or as they prefer to put it, 'STRANGERS'.

It's all very sad. The media seems to stoke up fear of the unknown, fear of any weather other than sun and a mild breeze and promotes the attitude that all excercise has to be a nasty painful slog.
When's the last time you saw cycling portrayed in a positive light in a soap for instance? Even Alan in the Archers is portrayed as eccentric for enjoying camping.

Combine this with the rise in expensive designer clothes for kids, which no snobby mum is going to want to risk getting dirty, the seeming uncoolness of the Scouts, Guides and other youth groups (along with the understandable reluctance of many adults to become leaders) and you can see where this is going.

Believe me – I despise the Mail as much as anyone, but sometimes they do get it right.

And breathe – feel better now.

but sometimes they do get it right

, except that, as you said, they just printed word for word what was handed to them by a PR company.

, except that, as you said, they just printed word for word what was handed to them by a PR company.

Yep, just like all the other papers.
As I said, I really don't like the Mail – scaremongering poisonous rag IMO.

Personally, I prefer the Indy and the Guardian during the week, Telegraph, Observer or Indy at the weekend, and a salacious peek at the Tabloids when I'm in the pub, cafe or barbers.

But can't stand the lazy thinking that assumes that EVERTHING in the Mail must be wrong, just because it's there.

I am Brian, and so is my wife.

(I thought we were all middle class these days.)

To be honest, I'm not really sure that it was any different in the 'good old days', was it? Countryside's always been a minority interest.

Newspapers are finished.

To be honest, I'm not really sure that it was any different in the 'good old days', was it? Countryside's always been a minority interest.

Maybe it's just rosy lenses, but I seem to remember most kids in my infant school (very early 1970's, urban North Manchester) being in the Cubs or the Brownies.
Many went on to join the Scouts and Guides and developed a great love of the outdoors – quite a few of my mates parents used to get involved too, providing transport etc.

We've only had the right to enjoy the countryside for a couple of generations – and like all of our hard won freedom if we don't use it and continue to fight for it, it will be taken away again.

Just as I was going to get whimsical about jumpers for goalposts etc (having read Rusty Spanner's posts) I got to thinking about wendyball.

In the 1970s when I used to watch match of the day with my Dad, or we went to the local division one game, it was quite common for the players to come off at half time, having kicked a sodden, orange ball around for 45 minutes, a uniform shade of erm… mud. It was quite rare for them to have a change of strip at half time, so they all took to the field again sporting brown shirts, shorts etc. The pitch was a sea of mud and they were all knackered by the final whistle having spent the second half ankle deep in gloop. Today, when a premiership game is over, they are practically mud free, the ground still looks like a green carpet etc etc. There is an easy parallel to draw here between peeps not wanting muddy kids and the "outdoors heros" they all look up to – wendyballers, who run about in perfect conditions and maybe get a little wet and cold but never truly dirty.

(I'm not commenting about the standard of playing surface and the quality of the game – just making an muddy/clean observation.)

Commentating on rugby matches on a muddy must have been fun in the 70s, with real indication of what colour strip or number was being worn by the players.

In truth though there are just more things that people/children/families might do with their spare time now than there used to be, so there will be lots of things that fewer people do now than in the past.

When this little survey was being done I expect most of the people they questioned were speculating about why other parents don't go into the countryside rather than why they themselves don't which is why all the tabloid fears are voiced. Unless you spend a lot of time with people, interviewing them about a subject will just result in them projecting what they imagine to be other people's views, it takes much longer to find out what people really do/think themselves.

Our family used to spend a lot of time in the outdoors when I was a kid, but then what else was there to do on a sunday for instance. And the reference to people today not being able to read a 1:25000 map – who used a map back then? We never did.

he he – those 'eat more chips' mortimers potato suppliers are just down the road from us, gives me a chuckle every time I see them. 😀 IGMC

Weak journalism pushing a view and spinning a story to back it up. It's not just the Daily Fail that does this. BBC is as bad these days. As they say never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

I'm not a fan of the Daily Mail, but I'd hardly say this was one of the paper's worst offences against journalism.

They've just picked up a press release and made a bit of a conceptual leap with it. If they'd put the word "some" in front of the headline then it'd be entirely accurate.

This sort of thing happens to a large proportion of the stories you see in all the newspapers every day.

Anyone interested in how the modern news machine works should read Flat Earth News by Nick Davies. It gives a great analysis of the process that leads to stories like this (and much sillier ones).

Hmmm, is this why some mountain-bikers prefer trail centres???

I like a good trail centre. Certainly beats driving behind a load of old gimmers to get out to the peak district. Or trying to link together various local bridleways which are generally covered in people trying to walk / churned up by horses. A standardish ride without too much travelling time, plus a bike shop and a caff for anything you need.