The problem with the Lake District...
Discussion
...is that it is apparently too white
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advi...
I always thought that it was a sort of greeny browny grey personally, but the boss of the local National Park Authority says it needs to be more accessible to the disabled & ethnic minorities.
Now the disabled I can understand,it is quite uppy-downy after all, but short of sticking chair lifts on every mountain, a bit tricky to solve.
But as far as minorities go, if they dont want to go there, then that is there choice surely. There is nothing to stop them going after all, so why the worry? Do folks really need or want the nanny state to tell them how to behave & what they should want?
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advi...
I always thought that it was a sort of greeny browny grey personally, but the boss of the local National Park Authority says it needs to be more accessible to the disabled & ethnic minorities.
Now the disabled I can understand,it is quite uppy-downy after all, but short of sticking chair lifts on every mountain, a bit tricky to solve.
But as far as minorities go, if they dont want to go there, then that is there choice surely. There is nothing to stop them going after all, so why the worry? Do folks really need or want the nanny state to tell them how to behave & what they should want?
king stops raining. Hence the lakesdazwalsh said:
Ok how the f are they going to attract more ethnic minorities to the lakes??
It shouldn't matter what the actual diversity mix of lake District visitors is - as long as anyone can visit it as they choose.The proposition in the national parks report is stupid and ridiculous.
I go to hip hop and Latino dance classes _ and as a white middle aged male seem to be under
Represented _ using the national parks approach that would mean the lessons or funding should stop. Oh wait...
Edited by topsey.mod on Tuesday 31st December 15:02
dazwalsh said:
Ok how the f are they going to attract more ethnic minorities to the lakes?? As fas as I'm aware they are free to visit the lakes just as easily as white folk.
Precisely, it's not as if there is any kind of discrimination going on at present, the Lake District (and all other National Parks) are already open to anyone who wants to visit.Perhaps a case of those in charge, trying to be more inclusive due to societal/media pressure?
Handily ignoring the fact that white British folks make up around 87% of the UK population, and Asian/Asian British and Black/Black British make up most of the remainder.
It's only a very, very small percentage of those white British folks who think a good day out is trudging up a massive hill, in the mist and drizzle, reaching the summit and opening the thermos of tea as a celebration. Then doing the same in reverse.
It's a strangely British thing to do, almost masochistic - lets go fell-walking in the rain... it's probably good for your health or something!!
If only a tiny fraction of the 87% white British indulge themselves in this behaviour, is it any surprise that a commensurately small group of minorities do the same?
Trying to make it more inclusive is ridiculous, it's only fools who like the outdoors, and will be out there whatever the season. I include myself in that and anyone is welcome if they are stupid enough, background or ethnicity is an insignificance.
Edited by OzzyR1 on Tuesday 31st December 01:55
Another 
- equality of opportunity vs equality of outcomes and all that.
For the accessibility part it's a bit more tricky, finding the balance between keeping 'natural' tracks, stopping spread and erosion of popular tracks, making lower and some head tracks tarmacked for wheelchair/infirm use and all the while retaining what people go there for in the first place ['nature'] can be tricky and is sometimes mutually exclusive.
I instinctively don't like the gentrification of popular trails but on the other hand realise it's not like there aren't lots of other ways/places to go when you're sound of limb.
- equality of opportunity vs equality of outcomes and all that.For the accessibility part it's a bit more tricky, finding the balance between keeping 'natural' tracks, stopping spread and erosion of popular tracks, making lower and some head tracks tarmacked for wheelchair/infirm use and all the while retaining what people go there for in the first place ['nature'] can be tricky and is sometimes mutually exclusive.
I instinctively don't like the gentrification of popular trails but on the other hand realise it's not like there aren't lots of other ways/places to go when you're sound of limb.
What utter garbage.
However having lived in Workington for a while many years back I can kinda see where they are coming from. While working there one of our colleagues from London came up. He was a large gentleman of non-white colouring. Going round the pubs in town was quite entertaining as the "ladies" of the town had never seen somebody of the non-white colouring in the flesh. They all just wanted to touch him! He loved the attention.
However having lived in Workington for a while many years back I can kinda see where they are coming from. While working there one of our colleagues from London came up. He was a large gentleman of non-white colouring. Going round the pubs in town was quite entertaining as the "ladies" of the town had never seen somebody of the non-white colouring in the flesh. They all just wanted to touch him! He loved the attention.
I'm sure the (clarkson era) Top Gear solved mobility impaired access to "the countryside" with their off road mobility scooters.
How soon we forget....
Tbh, this sort of report is exactly the sort of stuff I'd expect to see from London based organisations.
What is it I wonder that the chap thinks has to be "changed?"
I work in South London, where there is a majority of ethnic minorities now. Yet you go 40 miles to the South Downs, and ethnicity is pretty much 100% white.
To my mind walking as a leisure activity is more of a class thing than an ethnicity thing, though if we're not careful we're going to stir up all the nonsense that plagued the 3 die in a pool thread.
Tl:dr different people enjoy different things. What is currently wrong that needs changing?
(Other than moving the lakes to inner London
:
How soon we forget....
Tbh, this sort of report is exactly the sort of stuff I'd expect to see from London based organisations.
What is it I wonder that the chap thinks has to be "changed?"
I work in South London, where there is a majority of ethnic minorities now. Yet you go 40 miles to the South Downs, and ethnicity is pretty much 100% white.
To my mind walking as a leisure activity is more of a class thing than an ethnicity thing, though if we're not careful we're going to stir up all the nonsense that plagued the 3 die in a pool thread.
Tl:dr different people enjoy different things. What is currently wrong that needs changing?
(Other than moving the lakes to inner London
:It’s all absurd and it’s not just the Lake District.
At the top of our field, there is a foot path that crosses a ditch. It’s not a deep ditch, but it does have a bit of water in it. Ever since we’ve been here, a couple of railway sleepers has done the job of keeping your feet dry.
Last year the (cash strapped) council showed up and built what can only described as a bridge. It is wide enough for a wheel chair, it has hand rails for the infirm, and it took two blokes a week to make. It is fully disability compliant - the only problem is that you can only get to it via several miles of muddy tracks.
It’s an utter box ticking waste of money.
Oh yes, and the “racism” is probably the dog’s fault. Certainly in the US, dog ownership is far more prevalent amongst whites than blacks. People with dogs are more likely to walk than people without. Bloody racist dogs.....
At the top of our field, there is a foot path that crosses a ditch. It’s not a deep ditch, but it does have a bit of water in it. Ever since we’ve been here, a couple of railway sleepers has done the job of keeping your feet dry.
Last year the (cash strapped) council showed up and built what can only described as a bridge. It is wide enough for a wheel chair, it has hand rails for the infirm, and it took two blokes a week to make. It is fully disability compliant - the only problem is that you can only get to it via several miles of muddy tracks.
It’s an utter box ticking waste of money.
Oh yes, and the “racism” is probably the dog’s fault. Certainly in the US, dog ownership is far more prevalent amongst whites than blacks. People with dogs are more likely to walk than people without. Bloody racist dogs.....
Edited by rxe on Tuesday 31st December 09:06
They used to attract plenty, but the bad press put them off.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/al-qaeda-terrorist...
Of course the Lake District was popular for sports such as climbing, cycling, and outdoor swimming. My racist boss used to expouse, "You never see [I'll say none-white to be PC] doing swimming, climbing or cycling", that is because they are all skills they use for smuggling drugs and breaking into peoples houses; they just don't want the white man to know how good they are at it".
And if you've ever been to the 1980s backwater of Cumbria, Sellafield, Workington, Whitehaven you'll realise how backward the views were. It is the only time I've heard a candidate rejected for a high paying skilled job because "technically he was excellent, but a black person wouldn't fit in with the locals and they'd be miserable and leave in six months". When I say 1980s, that interview was in 1998!!!!!
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/al-qaeda-terrorist...
Of course the Lake District was popular for sports such as climbing, cycling, and outdoor swimming. My racist boss used to expouse, "You never see [I'll say none-white to be PC] doing swimming, climbing or cycling", that is because they are all skills they use for smuggling drugs and breaking into peoples houses; they just don't want the white man to know how good they are at it".
And if you've ever been to the 1980s backwater of Cumbria, Sellafield, Workington, Whitehaven you'll realise how backward the views were. It is the only time I've heard a candidate rejected for a high paying skilled job because "technically he was excellent, but a black person wouldn't fit in with the locals and they'd be miserable and leave in six months". When I say 1980s, that interview was in 1998!!!!!
The last few times I’ve been in the central lakes, Windermere, Bowness etc it has been full of people from all nationalities and races
I took my son on the ferry to Ambleside during the summer and we being white British without doubt were a minority on that boat
A large proportion of the non white population of the UK live in the South East or southern England and it’s a long way way for a day out maybe that has a bearing on them not visiting
You can be in the Lakes in an hour or so from the major urban areas of the north west .. it’s very accessible, not so much so from London
Perhaps they should move it to Milton Keynes ?
I took my son on the ferry to Ambleside during the summer and we being white British without doubt were a minority on that boat
A large proportion of the non white population of the UK live in the South East or southern England and it’s a long way way for a day out maybe that has a bearing on them not visiting
You can be in the Lakes in an hour or so from the major urban areas of the north west .. it’s very accessible, not so much so from London
Perhaps they should move it to Milton Keynes ?
StanleyT said:
And if you've ever been to the 1980s backwater of Cumbria, Sellafield, Workington, Whitehaven you'll realise how backward the views were. It is the only time I've heard a candidate rejected for a high paying skilled job because "technically he was excellent, but a black person wouldn't fit in with the locals and they'd be miserable and leave in six months". When I say 1980s, that interview was in 1998!!!!!
See my experience above from Workington! Henry Curwen pub & Washington hotel Friday night disco's were a hotbed of strange experiences & views!!
Edited by GT03ROB on Tuesday 31st December 10:52
GT03ROB said:
What utter garbage.
However having lived in Workington for a while many years back I can kinda see where they are coming from. While working there one of our colleagues from London came up. He was a large gentleman of non-white colouring. Going round the pubs in town was quite entertaining as the "ladies" of the town had never seen somebody of the non-white colouring in the flesh. They all just wanted to touch him! He loved the attention.
I lived just outside Whitehaven. Exactly the same reaction. In general the only non white faces were Chinese and Indian eateries. Like living n the 1950s.However having lived in Workington for a while many years back I can kinda see where they are coming from. While working there one of our colleagues from London came up. He was a large gentleman of non-white colouring. Going round the pubs in town was quite entertaining as the "ladies" of the town had never seen somebody of the non-white colouring in the flesh. They all just wanted to touch him! He loved the attention.
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