In March 2019, when the first inklings of a pandemic were reported in the news, who could have imagined the impact that this would have on all of us, on how we work and on where we work? Tollymore, like most workplaces, was massively impacted by the lockdowns. Throughout the pandemic, we continued to deliver our Instructor Development Programme (out Trainee Instructor scheme), but were unable to consistently deliver training courses for the public until April 2021. It is only now, as we move into June, that we can deliver residential programmes again and we are very pleased to be getting back to some sort of normality in terms of course delivery.
As 2020 progressed, it became really clear that many people were going hillwalking, cycling, mountain biking, kayaking and stand-up-paddle boarding (SUP) for the first time. People realised that being in the outdoors has a huge positive impact on their physical and particularly their mental health. Many people were furloughed and had more time on their hands. Sales of paddleboard and mountain bikes went through the roof.
This huge increase in users did have a number of downsides. In the Mournes, and at the coast, the few car parks were often full very early in the morning and roads became blocked with people parking on verges. Ott Car Park, which has spaces for about 15 cars, rarely had a space and one day we counted almost 200 cars on the verge either side of Ott Car Park. Local farmers often couldn’t access fields and by the end of last summer, the police were often to be seen, ticketing cars and keeping access lanes open. Some local farmers opened additional parking which helped.
However, the biggest impact was on the environment. Erosion became a huge issue – the Mournes in particular has never seen such heavy use over such a prolonged period of time. Social media drove large numbers to visit a small number of hills and it seemed that a new ‘secret waterfall’ for peoples’ bucket lists seemed to become popular every month. Fragile, wet ground could not cope and new ‘paths’ started to appear. Litter became a massive issue and some of the forests around the lower slopes of the Mournes became known for their abandoned campsites. Tollymore, in conjunction with some other local providers have been involved in promoting the ‘Leave No Trace’ and ‘AdventureSmart messages. We delivered a number of ‘engagement sessions’, sharing information and working with folks to develop an understanding of the environment and the challenges involved in heading into sometimes remote areas, often in poor weather. Many folk were venturing into the hills with little or no understanding of the risks involved and the local Mountain Rescue Team was under huge pressure as call outs increased.
A number of social media forums, which offer advice, recommended routes and venues, and other information have appeared and attracted large audiences. Some of the advice offered is very good, a lot is not quite so good and some is dangerous! New hillwalking (in the Mournes) and SUP (on the North Coast and Strangford Lough) providers became established. New terms, such as ‘Adventuretainment’ have been added to our lexicon, as people, who have never been in more remote areas, seek to pay for a morning or afternoon of adventure / entertainment!
Fortunately, coupled with this increase in demand for ‘adventuretainment’, there are greater numbers of people who want to become independent hillwalkers and SUPers. We have seen a big uptake in our skills courses in hillwalking and paddleboarding and a welcome increase in leadership courses in canoesport and mountaineering. 2021 will also see us deliver a Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor training course – the highest level of instructor courses for rockclimbers and mountaineers in the UK & Ireland. Demand for higher level coaching and leadership training and assessment continues to increase.
So what does the future hold? Well, since restrictions have started to ease, numbers accessing the outdoors have dropped off slightly, although they are still a lot higher than pre-covid levels. Some attitudes have changes and there appears to be less litter in the mountains. It appears that numbers now accessing the outdoors can be split into two ‘camps’:
- Those with little understanding of the challenges involved in a range of adventure sports, who treat our coast, lakes, rivers and mountains as a huge ‘green gym’, who are willing to pay for an ‘adventure’ or who have a ‘bucket list’ of the number of peaks they want to climb, the challenges they need to complete or the photographs they need to take.
- Those who seek to become independent participants, who wish to learn the skills needed to plan and undertake their own journeys and adventures in the future
Tollymore has a key role to play, with both groups of people, in terms of sharing good advice, developing skills and training and accrediting instructors and coaches. The outdoors will continue to provide opportunities for everyone to participate and enjoy our ‘great outdoors’ and to develop physical and mental wellbeing. Tollymore will continue to lead in the provision of skills and leadership training and work with other providers, agencies and organisations to share information and promote environmental sustainability.
Hopefully we will see you in the hills or on the water in 2021 and beyond!