ABSTRACT
The countryside offers a broad spectrum of opportunities to a wide range of users. It is seen as a place to live or work; a place to escape from the bustle of city life and to paint and write about; a place to grow food and trees and a haven for wildlife; a collecting ground for water supplies and a reservoir of raw materials. There is a feeling that ‘the countryside stands for all that is important in Britain; it is the expression of the good life away from the stresses and strains of the city, and the symbol of everything that is considered truly British’ 1 .
