Walking is Scotland's most popular outdoor activity
Fewer Scots headed for the outdoors last year, according to official figures.
Scottish Natural Heritage said 2 per cent fewer people took a trip to the countryside for leisure and recreation last year than in the previous year.
But the Scottish Government’s advisory body on the outdoors said the overall trend of outdoor activity was holding steady, despite the dip last year.
In 2011, 46 per cent of adults who live in Scotland made at least one visit per week for outdoor recreation.
SNH said: “Walking is the most popular outdoor recreational activity among adults living in Scotland.
“It was the main activity on 74 per cent of visits to the outdoors in 2011. Family outings, the main activity on 9 per cent of visits, were next in terms of popularity.
“This was followed by cycling and mountain biking, the main activity on 4 per cent of visits.”
It said total expenditure on visits to the outdoors in 2011 was estimated to be around £2.7bn, similar to the previous year.
The figures are based on the proportion of over 16s who make at least one trip a week into the outdoors and about 12,000 people were sampled in the Scottish Recreation Survey.
The organisation said: “Enjoyment of the outdoors, extending from urban green spaces and countryside around towns, to forests, mountains, the coast and remote and wild areas of land and water, can help deliver many social, economic and environmental benefits.
“These include an improved quality of life, better health and wellbeing, greater understanding of the natural world, more sustainable travel, economic development and stronger communities.
“Increasing participation in physical activity is a key aim of Scottish Government.”
The proportion of visits made close to home, classed as less than two miles travelling, was higher in 2011. There was also an increase in the proportion of shorter-duration visits being made. In 2010 and 2011, 25 per cent of adults who had visited the outdoors in the four weeks before they were interviewed had spent less than an hour on their trip compared to 20 per cent in 2004.
The total number of visits to the outdoors in 2011 was estimated to lie between 349 million and 371 million.
