As we all know, 'The Age of Enlightenment was a cultural movement of intellectuals beginning in 17th century Europe. The purpose was to reform society using reason, to challenge ideas grounded in tradition and faith, and to advance knowledge through scientific method.'
A bi-product of this enlightenment saw unshackled scientific discovery and a great growth of industry, wealth and influence by controlling classes and nation states across the globe. Our cities turned black under smoke and toil.
Out of this smog a new intellectual movement looked out from the dim, and introduced the world to concepts which embodied a reaction against the scientific rationalisation of nature. The Romantic movement reached its height around 1850. Born towards the end of this era were those that would carry a conservation fight into the late 19th, and early 20th centuries . A fight to preserve the wild. In the USA Iconic figures such as John Muir, political powers such as Theodore Roosevelt, and writers Henry David Thoreau, would provide the backbone of what was to come. There would also be those who would write of their every day adventures in the wild ,popularising writers such as George W Sears, also known as Nessmuck.
On this this side of the Atlantic we had our own conservationists & popularisers, Beatrix Potter, and a little later Sir Alfred Wainwright, not to mention the many volunteers of the Kinder Trespass, and the formation of the Ramblers and the National Trust.
It is to these and many many others that we owe our playground. It is to these that we can enjoy our chosen pursuit. Whether we choose to go ultralight on the trail, enjoy a picnic beside the lake , climb a challenging mountain, take a canoe down the river or cycle through a forest it is to these individuals and many more besides that we can be where we want to be. So let us all be of one tribe, and let that tribe be united and be for the good of us all out there in the great outdoors.
Sean Clarson.
