By Dave Lord

PEOPLE INTERESTED in all aspects of the great outdoors attended an open day at Perth Racecourse on Saturday.

Entitled the Outdoor Access Festival and Discovery Day, the free meeting brought together land managers and people with recreational interests in the countryside to show, in a fun way, how to be responsible about access.

Later in the day the same venue hosted the annual open meeting of the Perth and Kinross Outdoor Access Forum, which included the election of three members.

Saturday’s event formed part of a week-long Outdoor Access Festival, as Jane Pritchard, an access officer with Perth and Kinross Council, explained.

“This event aimed to celebrate the great outdoors while also raising awareness both of access rights and the responsibilities that go with them,” she said.

“Over the course of the festival week there are some 260 activities and events planned and the Discovery Day was a great family day out.

“Those coming along were able to meet and talk to a range of experts including gamekeepers, fishermen, canoeists and rafters.

“They were also given the opportunity to try out and take part in a number of demonstrations and fun, family-oriented activities.”

With outdoor activities hugely popular in Perth and Kinross, Ms Pritchard believes events such as Saturday’s have a key role to play.

“One of the main aims was to promote the Scottish Outdoor Access Code,” she said.

“It lets everyone with an interest in the countryside know about access rights, about acting responsibly when you are visiting the countryside and about being considerate of other people’s roles and interests.

“The Discovery Day was great fun and there were lots of things to interest people of all ages.”

Perth and Kinross Outdoor Access Forum is a voluntary body set up under Land Reform Act.

The organisation was established specifically to advise on issues relating to outdoor access and is supported by the council.