Acknowledge the importance of other outdoor activities in helping with mental heath and help connect people with nature

For many like myself, it is not just physical exercise that helps with mental health but also the connected activities we do with it, such as art, journaling, bird watching and nature based activities. All those can be done in quite locations, with no problems in physical distancing and will help give people proper headspace appose to the current situation where people are dodging others and walking on the road because they can only move from their front door for 60 mins.

Whilst we definitely don't want people driving 20 plus miles to visit the countryside. I don't see a problem with a short drive to somewhere quiet. One issue with the SOAC is it fails in agricultural areas with limited paths, so people like where I live have little option but to drive to somewhere safe to walk. Where I live the core path document actually lists more roads than actual paths as paths, our small roads definitely aren't quiet and safe.

We have a proper chance to address mental health and the human disconnect with the natural world. An article in science in 2019 highlighted the importance of nature and outdoors to our wellbeing. It is also widely recognised that extended confined time indoors leads to increased anxiety.

Even when people are slowly returning back to work, it will be in increasing stressful conditions and everyone is going to need a way of clearing their head and processing the noise in it. Nature has a unique way of helping people heal and everything should be done to keep the outdoors open and accessible to all.