The Southern Upland Way: Exploring Landscape and Culture

Abstract

This paper considers a research project conducted at the University of Glasgow’s Dumfries Campus, between 2004–5. This considered Scotland’s longest long‐distance walking route: the Southern Upland Way. Here, we consider its methodology and main findings, and then focus specifically on the contents of one of our most useful data sources: walkers’ diaries. Our research, ultimately, showed that the ‘Way’ was perceived, by those who walked it, in three main ways: as a source of ‘challenges’; as a resource of ‘open spaces’ and as a place of genuine ‘hospitality’. Furthermore, we consider the way in which the experience of conducting this research contributed to the development of an active research culture on our relatively new campus, founded in 1999, and also point to the concrete impacts our research had on developing tourism on the Southern Upland Way.

Keywords:

• Landscape
• Walkers
• Southern Upland Way
• Culture

Notes

[1] Scottish Natural Heritage: Long Distance Routes. Available at http://www.snh.org.uk/about/initiatives/ab-init03.asp (accessed 5 November 2008).

[2] See Daugstad, ‘Negotiating Landscape in Rural Tourism’.

[3] See den Breejen, ‘The Experiences of Long Distance Walking’.

[4] The Southern Uplands partnership provided funding for this project through Dumfries & Galloway Council, South Lanarkshire Council, Scottish Borders Council, Dumfries & Galloway Tourist Board, Scottish Borders Tourist Board, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Natural Heritage, Forest Enterprise, Southern Uplands Partnership and southernuplandway.com.

[5] For information on tourism within southern Scotland see VisitScotland’s research and statistics webpage on regional facts and figures: http://www.visitscotland.org/research_and_statistics/regional_facts_and_figures.htm

[6] See Lovell, The British Isles through Geological Time.

[7] See, for instance, Smith, Tourism Analysis.

[8] Lumsden et al., ‘Monitoring of Cycle Tourism on Long Distance Trails’.

[9] Research with human subjects for this project was conducted in conformity with the University of Glasgow’s ethical policies, and approved by its Research Committee. The diary transcriptions are held under secure conditions at the University of Glasgow’s Crichton Campus, Dumfries.

[10] See http://www.waymerks.org.uk.

[11] McCann, Social Values and Poetic Acts, 52.

[12] Urry, The Tourist Gaze.

[13] See http://www.sup.org.uk/publications.htm.

[14] See http://www.crred.org.uk. Partners include the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the University of Glasgow, University of Paisley, Scottish Agricultural College, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Power

[15] Young and Young, Writing the Way.