Hand-picked and on our doorstep in the South of England

Every experience listed on Our Land has been selected because it promises to tell you the stories of the landscape through its food, buildings, history, people and wildlife. Written by the people you’ll meet during your visit and carefully screened by local field-experts, you can be sure that by having an Our Land experience you are protecting rural communities, as well as other much-loved features in our landscapes.

How experiences are selected for the Our Land site

We select Our Land experiences based on their Promise to Our Land in which businesses describe how they sustain their environment, support their community, and share their knowledge of the local landscape. Every answer is carefully checked by both an experienced team at responsibletravel.com and in Our Land’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Park Units. If we feel the experience doesn’t guarantee you with an interaction with the landscapes’ food, buildings, history, people or wildlife, Our Land’s local consultants lend a hand and work alongside the businesses to help them develop landscape initiatives so they can complete the Promise, appear on the site and offer you an ‘experience to treasure’.

The story of Our Land

Three years ago, nine protected area managers from the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks of South East England met in the rolling chalk downs of the Surrey Hills to discuss ways of promoting and developing sustainable tourism. As well as the obvious passion for each of our areas, what became instantly clear was the distinctiveness of each of the landscapes as reflected in the diverse stories told. With funding from the Rural Development Program for England and a partnership with online travel expert www.responsibletravel.com, we set out to create new parameters for sustainable and responsible tourism in the protected landscapes and Our Land was born. Our Land’s Local ‘Field Experts’ The Our Land team of ‘field experts’ includes representatives from each of the landscapes and from private sector partner www.responsibletravel.com. • Nick Johannsen, Director, Kent Downs AONB & Our Land’s Chairman • Sarah Loftus, Project Coordinator, South East Protected Landscapes • Richard Clarke, Director of Association of AONBs • Rob Fairbanks, Lead Officer, Surrey Hills AONB • Justine Aldous, Administrator, Surrey Hills AONB • Denise Furlonger, Finance Advisor, Surrey County Council • Chris Gregory, Tourism & Sustainablility Manager, New Forest National Park • Dr Nicola Turnbull, Sustainability Manager, South Downs National Park • Gerry Sherwin, Business Manager, High Weald AONB • Claire Forrest, Activities & Learning Officer, Chilterns AONB • Nicola Greaves, Information & Interpretation Officer, Cotswolds Conservation Board • Henry Oliver, Director, North Wessex Downs AONB • Fiona Hanna, Lead Officer, Isle of Wight AONB • Justin Francis, Managing Director, responsibletravel.com • Kate Shepherd, Our Land Project Manager, responsibletravel.com kate@our-land.co.uk 01273 669664 Our Land’s Business Development Managers Our Land's Business Developement Managers work with the businesses listed on the site to advise on conservation of the landscape and enhancement of your landscape experience. • Chilterns, Cotswolds, North Wessex Downs: Malcolm Connor • High Weald: Alison Burgh • South Downs: Nicola Turnbull • Kent Downs: Pippa Palmer • Isle of Wight, New Forest, Surrey Hills: Simon Matthews In fond memory of Dave Hughes, Our Land's Lead Product Consultant: Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind. William Wordsworth, Intimations of Immortality

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