Nature is your neighbour in Dumfries

Apr 15 2011 Dumfries Standard Friday

A CAMPAIGN to encourage more people to enjoy nature close to home comes to Dumfries this week.

The Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) ‘Simple pleasures, easily found’ campaign hopes to inspire local people to make more use of a series of trails around the town, taking in woodland, parkland and riverside.

To help them, SNH has produced a new, free leaflet with details of the trails.

‘Simple pleasures, easily found in Dumfries’ recommends four easy-to-follow routes – Heathhall Forest, Whitesands to Nithside, Whitesands to Kingholm Quay and Lincluden Abbey Field.

It gives ideas for simple, free activities to enjoy along the way, like building a den, spotting otters and red squirrels and flying a kite.

Beth Wilson, the local SNH area officer, said: “This colourful guide is a great way to explore some of the best places for nature in Dumfries, and the great thing is you don’t have to go very far from your front door.

“The places we’ve chosen are spread out around the town so wherever you live, there’s one close by.

“There’s plenty to see throughout the year and now’s a lovely time to get outdoors and enjoy the longer days, listen to birds singing and look for spring flowers like primroses and daffodils.

“We hope this leaflet will inspire you to explore somewhere new and have fun for free!”

The publication is part of SNH’s national ‘Simple pleasures, easily found’ campaign, encouraging people to get outdoors more often to enjoy nature, particularly in Scotland’s urban areas.

The campaign was launched after research showed that more than half of Scottish households visit the outdoors less than once a week.

14,000 copies of the leaflet will be delivered to households in Dumfries next week.

Free copies are also available from SNH publications on 01738 458530, by emailing pubs@snh.gov.uk or can be downloaded from www.snh.gov.uk/simplepleasures