THE outdoors has come indoors at a Tyneside retail centre after a survey showed that many shoppers are shunning the countryside.
The survey by the National Trust revealed that more than a third of those questioned had not visited a countryside site in the last year.
So yesterday the trust took over a vacant retail unit to bring the outdoors to crowds at the Gateshead Metrocentre.
For the next six weeks, shoppers can enjoy a garden area, countryside zone with trees and a sandy beach which have all been created inside the unit.
Based in the upper central mall, the unit will showcase the variety of coast and countryside in the care of the trust across the North East to tempt shoppers to sample what is on offer.
Teams from the trust’s attractions will also be on hand to lay on activities such as bird box making and pond dipping.
Janet Bibby, regional director of the National Trust for Yorkshire and the North East said: “We’re spoilt in the North of England to have Hadrian’s Wall and the golden sandy beaches of the Northumberland Coast.
“But many people aren’t visiting their local places. By coming into the heart of urban Tyneside we want to take the opportunity to really give a flavour of the things to enjoy on the doorstep, as well as explain the trust’s work, what we do in the countryside to protect these places and show how people can get involved and keep coming back to enjoy themselves and see something different.”
The trust owns 16 miles of coastline in the North East including the Farne Islands and scenic stretches around Dunstanburgh and Druridge Bay in Northumberland; Marsden Bay, The Leas and Souter Lighthouse in South Tyneside; the restored County Durham coast and sections around Redcar in Cleveland.
It also protects sites including stretches of Hadrian’s Wall and Allen Banks and Staward Gorge in Northumberland, as well as historic estates such as Gibside, Cragside and Wallington.
Geoff Hazel, 64, a retired health and safety adviser from Lobley Hill, Gateshead, was at the Metrocentre with his two granddaughters, Lucy and Holly , five and two respectively, when he called in at the trust’s new indoor-outdoor shop.
He said: “It is something different for the Metrocentre. I think it will attract a lot of families and children. It is something that people wouldn’t think of ever seeing at somewhere like this.
“We came here to get out of the rain and it’s been wonderful to find this small patch of coast and countryside in the middle of the Metrocentre.
“I have always tried to make sure that my granddaughters are outdoors as much as possible and are interested in the countryside.”
Other findings of the survey at the Metrocentre found that 70% associated the trust with outdoor activities that were physical while 20% of respondents didn’t think the conservation charity offered outdoor experiences that were open to all.
The findings have reinforced the trust’s commitment to doing more to change people’s perceptions and demonstrate the opportunities available to all.
Janet Bibby said: “Places like Cragside and Wallington have stunning houses, but they also have woodland, gardens, lakeside walks and miles of pathways that can quite easily be enjoyed on foot.
“We promote walking or cycling at our places, and we have really developed the outdoors activity programmes at sites including Gibside and Allen Banks and Staward Gorge, where people can enjoy bushcraft activities and travel with trust staff to try canyoning, climbing or, in colder months, even snow-shoeing.”
Shoppers can also win prizes, including a weekend camping in a yurt at Gibside, the chance to climb some of England’s finest trees at Cragside and a picnic at Penshaw Monument.
