I’m a person coming from the EU who does a lot of hiking and trekking. I have kept doing so while in the UK for the past couple of weeks(I’m talking mostly about Wales and England here never been to Scotland.) What I noticed is that even in popular hikes there is never a wooden bench or even left wood stumps. I’m talking about quite casual paths where you would encounter at least 10 people in week days(A lot of people to see in a hour for trails that are not tourist hotspot). There are also no benches near rivers, and lakes while back in the continent you usually get a nice little gazebo on attractive sights even if kilometres away from civilisation. This seems weird to me nothing almost everywhere there’s absolutely nothing no benches, no cabins, no wooden swings, no set-up fire places.
The UK has comparatively so much less wild land compared to back home, and there’s literally some village just 3-4 kilometres away no matter where i go yet there’s no development on those trails that make it more attractive and enjoyable for people. Only ones I see are usually on top of mountains, but not as often as back in Europe even then. Is this done consciously? As if not to ruin the atmosphere of the area to make it seem untouched by humans? Any ideas?
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You’re not going to see random cabins in England because every piece of land is owned.
It’s because there’s shitty people who would shit things up.
If you want to sit there is the floor or rocks or logs but also where tf are you walking that there’s absolutely no benches. Are you just going fully on footpaths through farmland?
Benches cost money to install and a lot of land owners don’t want people to linger.
Any such amenities require maintaining once put in place. That costs money. Whether it be private land owners or local authorities, the party that would be responsible doesn’t want the cost.
Not all paths are hiking paths they are just ancient rights of way. They are just maintained by the land owner so the public can cross their land. Don’t think they have the time, money or desire to build furniture for the public.
*Some* of it will be because of the blight of the ambulance chaser.
“The bench was too low, and I hurt my back standing up…” nonsense, and then straight on the phone to Catshit, Merkin & Phlegm – your favourite personal injury lawyers!
After a couple of these spurious cases the council or land owner’s insurance policy is through the fucking roof, so there goes the bench.
It’s bad enough with rotting Stiles and sign posts that have fallen over due to lack of maintenance. I don’t want a wooden bench collapsing when I sit on it.
What is ‘in Europe’ nonsense. Lived in Netherlands for years and nature here is paradise compared to there.
If you’re from Sweden I could see what you
mean, but saying everything ‘s better across the pond is a stretch.
Because they aren’t needed.
The sitting/resting places are either your arse or the closest pub for a break.
Because they are not ‘hiking paths’ (ie not laid on for the tourists by some higher power for the enjoyment of landscape) but usually ancient rights of way that have been used for centuries across privately owned land.
You’re there to walk, not to sit.
Leave no trace. We don’t do signs either.
The sad reality is that they would just be vandalised.
The OP has hit on a really interesting point about how Britons view “going for a hike” versus other countries.
I’ve just been driving across the rural United States and hiking is something that seems to happen largely in specific publicly-owned nature reserves and national parks, along specially-built tracks. These are often far more wild than their British equivalents. Want to walk across someone’s beautiful privately-owned land? You can’t! Same in some other European countries I’ve visited.
In the UK, you get whatever route you were given by ancient Britons choosing to walk along an old hedgerow, which may then have been stuck on a map sometime after the enclosure act, and you can criss-cross the whole country on private land. (There’s always some court case involving a foreign billionaire buying an English country house then being shocked to discover every person in the country has a right to walk across their front lawn.)
If you’re lucky and it’s in a national park on a busy route the relevant authority will put in PROPER facilities on busy footpaths.
And maybe if a council hasn’t been screwed by austerity then the smaller routes will be maintained with working stiles and gates.
But in most cases there’s a local landowner who really doesn’t want you there. The trade-off for no benches is, unlike in many countries, you CAN be there!
Near me there is a hill with a lovely view and a bench. The bench has been vandalised many times and is unusable.
Some are located too close to habitable areas and youths tend to steal or trash or burn them
Up in the Scottish Highlands in case you find your way here!
Our local walks often have benches, hikes not so much from my limited experience – you’re just expected to pick a boulder or sit where you drop, so even taking a plastic bag to sit on will save you a wet bum!
However some of our longer hikes & remote areas do have bothys (unmanned cabins) with fireplaces where you can rest out of the weather overnight if needs be.