Rubbish stinks

A memorable blot was by the side of a remote path in South Wales. There in a pleasant little spot sheltered from the breeze and perfect for a snack break, lay the unromantic evidence of a couple's private party - several drink cans, a few crisp packets, cigarette ends, a used condom and a man's sock.

The perpetrators of that unpleasant act - leaving the evidence behind, that is - no doubt belong to the 'mindless minority' frequently pilloried in the outdoor press.

That minority exists. Most of us know we have responsibilities to the landscape. We really do follow the Country Code and are always careful to pack out everything we pack into the countryside.

The snag is that while still a minority, the actual number of the mindless has risen in proportion with the explosion of interest in walking and backpacking in the last 20 years or so.

Hence the increasing frequency with which we meet filth, vandalism and thoughtlessness where they are most offensive - in those places we visit to escape them.

That minority of walkers and backpackers are not the only culprits, though. Anyone who has come across tattered fertiliser and feed bags flapping against fences miles from anywhere will know that farmers are not always as committed to the welfare of the countryside as their spokespeople claim. That's a wider debate. But even a discussion about what we as individuals can do must go further than the passive phrases we're all familiar with.

The old adage 'if you pack it in pack it out' is fine advice but simply saying 'I leave no rubbish behind' doesn't go far enough.

As long as other people leave theirs, it will not go away without remedial action.

If more of us, as a matter of course, picked up some of the litter we come across the result would be dramatic. Many people already do this. We confess that at Treadsoftly we have only recently started to do so.

We're not saying that a weekend's recreation should be transformed into a prolonged litter-sweep - although countryside rangers and conservation volunteers do just that valuable work.

If each of us makes the effort to pick up a can or two or a crisp packet, together we can have an effect.

Few people would disagree with this sentiment - next time you're out and about, see how many people turn it into a reality.