Outdoor recreation and the well-being of rural residents

Abstract

Living surrounded by 'nature' and close to opportunities for outdoor recreation is both a benefit of rural living for many and a driver of counterurbanisation, including through second-home ownership (Adamiak et al., 2017;Halfacree, 2012). The COVID-19 pandemic has further heightened awareness of the value and potential of rural spaces as sites for healthy living, working, recreation and domestic food production (Weeden, 2020). As such, the natural environment has been implicated as a driver of higher levels of subjective well-being in rural areas (Gilbert et al., 2016;Verheij et al., 2008). However, simplistic narratives on the virtues of living in nature, which play into the nostalgic notion of the rural idyll, can distract from the less-than-idyllic realities of rural life (Shucksmith, 2018), and well-being in rural communities will be heavily influenced by individual and place-based circumstances.This chapter explores the contributions that outdoor recreation and access to nature more generally make to well-being in rural areas using Scotland as a case study. In Scotland, rights of access to the land for recreational purposes (the 'right to roam') is well established. Current policy around outdoor recreation therefore focuses on promoting uptake of opportunities for outdoor recreation. This objective cross-cuts policy areas including environment and natural resources, health, spatial planning and tourism and is being delivered through initiatives such as the 'Our Natural Health Service' programme, led by NatureScot (Scotland's nature agency), which aims to increase public awareness of the benefits of outdoor activity and embed nature-based health promotion initiatives into health and social care services.Against this policy background, we present a rural viewpoint on relationships between natural environments and well-being, a field of research which has hitherto focused largely on urban settings and populations. The chapter begins by outlining theories linking outdoor 22