Visitor Safety in the Countryside Group

I have never been advised as to how safety in a Country Park differs to safety in the countryside in general.  I help to manage a park which has 500,000 visitors a year, includes the usual facilities plus nature trails and open spaces.  Issues such as the surface of the trails, the drop offs, condition of riverbanks, condition of fencing etc. have beeen raised often but we do not know how far we need to go to be sure we are being reasonably responsible.  Anyone else with similar problems?

Hi Mike and welcome to the forum.  Much of the work that the Visitor Safety Group has done looks at the issues you raise.  You might find our publication useful.

There are no simple answers as to what needs to be done.  Much depends on the nature of the site and the type and experience of your vistors.  We aim to provide an environment where there are no “nasty surprises”.

Our members have found the concept of zoning to be useful. 

This is illustrated in one of the case studies.