Introduction: Re-thinking leisure activities in the outdoors

Abstract

The book begins with a series of chapters that on the face of it speak in many ways to the outdoor recreation trope. They are focused around the link between outdoor leisure and wellbeing. In addition, they are strongly linked to the dominant imagery of outdoor recreation as male and white dominated. Yet a second glance begins to show significant challenges to this being raised through all of these chapters. The second chapter, by Nick Davies, talks about the diversity of recreational walking preferences and experiences, and is situated within Stebbins's (2017) concept of serious leisure. In doing so, it recognizes the need to and value of seeing walking as broadly defined rather than constraining it to a macho imagery of the 'serious' (in a machismo sense rather than Stebbins' concept).