Oxford News
1 in 5 Brits never get to spend a full day outside per year
A poll of 2,000 adults found 21% admitted they are only able to spend a day or longer outside once or a handful of times a year – with 5% saying they get this chance less than once in any given 12-month period.
Other main barriers to spending more time in nature were identified as a lack of time to themselves (21%), working in an office (16%), and childcare commitments (10%).
Some factors affected some generations more than others, as significantly more Millennials (21%) have their outside time impacted by the responsibilities of raising a family.
Gen Zs say they’ve simply lost interest in outdoor activities
Whereas a higher number of Gen Zs say they’ve simply lost interest in outdoor activities (11% versus 7% overall), possibly because all their hobbies are based indoors (13% versus 10% overall).
Barriers such as these mean the average person spends just 84 minutes a day in the incredible outdoors – and are stuck inside the rest of the time.
5% even confirmed they spend fewer than five minutes enjoying the outdoors in a 24-hour period.
When it comes to actually seeing anything green or growing, time spent reduces further to only half an hour per day – and a significant 22% have under five minutes of daily contact with nature.
Sabina Voysey, director general at The Camping and Caravanning Club , which commissioned the research, said: “Outdoor time is obviously important, but we also acknowledge how hard it can be to spend time in it due to everything else we have on our plates.
“This is one of the reasons we’re so passionate about the benefits of being able to properly switch off and reconnect with nature for longer periods.
“Which is why taking a holiday that has this built in makes it a great option to up your weekly, monthly, or yearly dose of the incredible outdoors.”
What age group spends the least amount of time outdoors?
But how does your age compare to different generations when it comes to ‘touching grass’?
An interactive timeline , developed by the club, shows the exact age where hours spent outdoors tails off due to other commitments – so you can see how you’re doing for your age group.
Factors such as furthering a career, raising a family, and balancing a hectic social life all contribute to time spent immersed in nature at various points, but find out if the barriers you’ve experienced or are facing now are the same as your peers.
The most outdoorsy cohort of 25-34-year-olds are able to spend an average of 104 minutes in the fresh air per day and the highest proportion of this group (11%) habitually do so for six hours or more.
Those between the ages of 45 and 54 only spend 73 minutes not stuck indoors on a typical day.
Time spent outside then starts to increase again steadily when adults hit the age of 55, reflecting a return to a slower pace of life and easing of responsibilities.
But 61% have aspirations to turn this around and actively make an effort to increase the time they spend in nature.
Methods they are planning to use to achieve this aim included thinking about new outdoor places they want to visit (31%) or walks to go on (24%), making more social plans that take place outside (25%) and setting daily or weekly goals to hit (24%).
One in 10 (10%) are also specifically planning to take longer excursions by going camping.
The research also found which life stages have the largest impact on the time people have to connect with nature, with going into full-time work at number one (48%) and starting a family coming in second place (18%).
Educational milestones such as enrolling in university (11%) or moving up to secondary school (12%) were also mentioned.
When the 28% who believe their generation spends less time outside than the previous one were asked why this is, most pointed the finger at technology.
As increased screen time (55%), more digital, indoor entertainment options (47%), and an overall overreliance on tech (48%) were to blame for this perception, according to the OnePoll.com figures.
It may be this inability to switch off which has become a staple of modern life that has led some (51%) to enjoy fewer extended periods outdoors, to reduce the chance of becoming distracted when they venture back inside.
Aside from being able to disconnect (41%), key reasons for those who actively prefer this option were finding they are able to relax more (54%), properly immerse themselves in nature (38%), and explore new places (38%).
Recommended reading:
Sabina Voysey, for The Camping and Caravanning Club, added: “It’s such a shame that we don’t get more opportunities as a nation to get outdoors and re-connect with nature.
“It’s understandable given the pace of life most people have, with multiple commitments on their time.
“But I think all can agree when you do find that motivation to disconnect and breathe in the fresh air, it can’t be beaten.”
How much time do you spend outdoors and with nature? Let us know in the comments below.
On Wednesday, September 2, it was the Concours judging and private viewings to dominate the agenda for the day.
Twelve Concours classes were held across almost a century of motoring, including The Golden Age of Motoring, 100 Years of Carrrozzeria Touring, La Dolce Vita, 60 Years of the Lamborghini Miura and Passione Ferrari.
Two new classes also made their debut for 2026, Rare Breeds of the Digital Age and Hypercar Heaven, which recognise the growing importance of contemporary performance cars within the international collector market.
Judging will take place across Wednesday and Thursday, with the show field bringing together a 70-strong collection of classics, supercars and hypercars from around the world.
Some of the cars include Aa Maserati 8C 3000, Alfa Romeo Sprint Berlinetta, a one-off Maserati 3500GT Spyder Prototipo by Vignale, a very early Porsche 356 Split Window Coupé, Aston Martin DB3S, Lamborghini Miura P400S, Bizzarrini 5300GT, Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet, Bugatti EB110 Prototype, Aston Martin Valiant Prototype and the extraordinary Bugatti Bolide, one of just 40 produced worldwide.
Helen Pike has decided to step down as Master of Magdalen College School at the end of the 2026/27 academic year, the school in east Oxford announced in March.
MCS is one of the top performing schools in the country, ranking in the top 20 independent secondary schools in The Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2026.
READ MORE: UK private school headteacher to leave after 11 years
The new academic year will start next week, with Ms Pike preparing for one more year in charge before she hands over to her successor, who will take over in September 2027.
The first female Master at MCS, Ms Pike guided the board of governors to one of the most significant decisions in the school’s history, to become fully co-educational from 2027.
While there has been a co-educational sixth form at the school for 15 years, the school last month announced it will become fully co-educational over the coming decade.
Ms Pike said earlier: “I love MCS, and it is a perennial privilege to lead this remarkable school.
“Being Master of MCS is a brilliant job, and I am declaring my intention early in order to give MCS the very best opportunity to find the right Master for September 2027. I shall continue to do all in my power to further the fortunes of this wonderful school until then.
“I look forward to a new phase in my own professional life, one that builds on all that I have enjoyed and achieved in my career during the past 30 years.
“Having encouraged many cohorts of pupils to take sensible risks and to do something creative and different when the time feels right, I am doing just that.”
During Ms Pike’s tenure, MCS has been recognised as a Top 20 Independent School and South East School of the Year by the Sunday Times and won Independent School of the Year for Social Mobility.
Thanking her in his letter to the school community, chair of governors, Bob Price, said earlier this year: “Helen is an outstanding leader and will go with our sincere gratitude and warm thanks for her exceptional headship.
“She will leave the school in excellent shape for her successor.”
Recruitment for a replacement for Ms Pike is now under way.
Last month, Ms Pike congratulated pupils on their “outstanding success” in this year’s A-Level exams, after more than a quarter of pupils (43) achieved three A*s or more and 25 secured all A*s.
In total, 39 pupils from the 2026 cohort are heading to Oxbridge, while 22 have secured places to study medicine.
As part of the school’s expansion plans, MCS is preparing to build a new Science, Library and Partnerships building.
A spokeswoman said the new building will offer an exciting opportunity to reimagine the senior school site as staff look ahead to full co-education.
She added earlier: “With a vision to create a sector-leading science building in the centre of Oxford, the development will enable us to support an ambitious and forward-looking science curriculum, expanding to the emerging and rapidly advancing areas of robotics, AI and Big Data.”
Holding banners which read ‘For f**k’s sake, just stop oil’, the demonstrators took to the road in Parliament Square at noon today (Wednesday, September 2).
This was as Andy Burnham faced his first Prime Minister’s Questions, and many of the protestors glued themselves to the road.
The group demanded that the UK government stop approving all further oil and gas developments, and sign a Fossil Fuel Treaty to stop oil and gas extraction.
READ MORE: Witney firefighters called out to over 50 incidents in one month
Just Stop Oil say that the police are expected to arrest all those blocking the road, and that one lane has been left free of glued-on action takers to permit access for emergency vehicles.
Andy Burnham is due to make a decision on whether to allow more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.
Reverend James Crote, a Baptist Minister and grandfather from Chesterton near Bicester, said: “Today is my grandson’s first birthday. I have to take action for the sake of his future.
The 69-year-old added: “The government has been dilly-dallying about whether to say yes or no to the Rosebank oil field but, if we want a future for our children, there is no choice – it has to say ‘no’.
READ MORE: Chain closes almost 200 UK restaurants with close to 4,000 jobs lost
“I am here as a Christian Minister because the Church has to speak out and demand that the government stops approving further oil and gas developments now. It’s time for us all to say ‘For God’s sake, Just Stop Oil’.”
Data from the Met Office indicates that 2026 was the hottest summer in UK recorded history, beating 2025, which was the previous hottest summer on record.
2026 was also one of the driest summers on record, delivering record-low food harvests.
Climbing temperatures have triggered wildfires across the country, and national fire chiefs said the wildfire risk facing the UK is “like nothing we have seen before”.
READ MORE: Broadchurch star selling £1.8m ‘magical’ Cotswolds mill house after 60 years
Taking action, grandmother Victoria Ann Lynch-Staunton from Leamington Spa, said: “What is happening is beyond a tragedy.”
The 71-year-old added: “I beg everyone to join Just Stop Oil or governments will continue to prioritise endless growth and corporate profit over billions of lives – yours and your children.
“Wake up and smell the coffin. It is the responsibility of all of us to act now!”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said today: “We are all Just Stop Oil.
READ MORE: The Grand Tour returns to screens with brand new trio this week
“Every single person who fears deadly wildfires, devastating droughts, and spiralling food shortages is Just Stop Oil.
“The first duty of government is to keep the public safe – but by greenlighting oil and gas drilling, they endanger our survival while corporates and billionaires laugh their way to the bank.
“Every one of us feels alone and powerless in the face of this insanity, but we know there is massive political and public support for our demand.
“So we’re inviting everyone to join us at an online call on 3rd October 2026 – because it’s when we work together that we are powerful and win.”
-
Oxford University4 weeks agoNew to the Oxford English Dictionary this September
-
Oxford united FC4 weeks agoChris Gunter steps away Wales role to focus on Oxford United
-
Oxford united FC2 weeks agoLIVE: Exeter City vs Oxford United – Jersey Mike's Trophy group stage
-
Student Life3 weeks agoOxford partnership allows OpenAI to use rare Bodleian texts to train ChatGPT
-
Traffic & Transport2 weeks agoWhy should I have to pay more for buses if I don’t use a smartphone? | Bus fares
-
Traffic & Transport2 weeks agoHow poor public transport policy is putting the brake on cities | Road transport
-
Oxford united FC3 weeks agoNorthern Ireland fans laud Oxford United defender Ciaron Brown
-
Oxford united FC2 weeks agoOxford United lose to Exeter City on penalties in Jersey Mike’s Trophy