Ashridge, the National Trust estate on the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire border, is one of the top places in the UK to see bluebells, according to surveys. In 2016 it decided to charge visitors to see the bluebells at some of the best locations on the 5000 acre estate. Is putting a price on our ‘national… Continue reading
Posts tagged National Trust
Natural Capital – how free things make us all richer
Why do we know the value of the things we build, but not the Natural Capital that the planet provides for nothing? There’s a price for property. Walk past any house in your neighbourhood, and if you know anything about local values, you can take an informed stab at the asking price if it went… Continue reading →
Bluebells – we love them, but do we really value them, and all our other nature too?
It was a quiet news morning in London on Monday, April 8, 2013. Just the sort of time for the newspapers and the broadcast media to pick up the publication of a very important report, concerning the whole of Britain’s land and natural resources. And then, boom. Mrs Thatcher’s death was announced at noon, and… Continue reading →
Chart-topping walk on London's doorstep
How do you measure Britain’s most popular walks? Footpaths may look busy, but it’s very difficult to count how many people are using them. And who’s to say it isn’t the same local people taking a turn every day of the year, which would certainly build up the numbers? Truth is, the countryside is not… Continue reading →
Chalk up and walk in the Chilterns
The Government – in fact all three major parties – are committed to building HS2, the high speed rail link from London to Birmingham, then Scotland – through the Chilterns. I spent a day there – arriving and departing, I must admit, by (slower) train.
Continue reading →