Countryside in reach: "living near or visiting green spaces can help people recover from stress and mental fatigue, reduce blood pressure and accelerate healing after surgery"

We are very lucky to have so much glorious countryside within easy reach - although how easy it is for those without a car to access is another matter, as reported on the Rural Services Network:

04.02.2019

COUNTRYSIDE OUT OF REACH

New research from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) shows that the UK’s poorest residents are missing out on England’s most beautiful countryside and the related mental and physical benefits, according to the Guardian.

Further research from Edinburgh and Glasgow universities demonstrate that living near or visiting green spaces can help people recover from stress and mental fatigue, reduce blood pressure and accelerate healing after surgery. But almost half of the most socially deprived areas around the UK are more than 15 miles by road from national parks and areas of outstanding national beauty.

Natural England has also estimated that people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds make just one per cent of visits to national parks despite accounting for 14 per cent of the general population.

Full article:

→ The Guardian - England's national parks out of reach for poorer people – study

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Countryside out of reach - Rural Services Network
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