Mercy Muroki: Claims that racism causes ethnic minorities to not visit rural areas are idiotic

Nature broadcaster and adventurer Ben Fogle has called the great outdoors a "white middle class theme park."

A claim that has been made by many others several times before.

Last year, for instance, the BBC published an article titled: ‘Rural racism in Dorset: Why is our countryside 98% white?’.

Someone writing in Guardian had this to say: ‘to be black in the British countryside means being an outsider’.

Countryfile presenter Ellie Harrison made the claim that Rural Britain is racist and that national parks are a, quote, "white environment".

Now, I agree with Ben Fogle when he says that spending time in the countryside is alien to too many people, that we should get more kids out in the great outdoors.

And in a way, he’s right. The figures do show that only 1 per cent of visitors to England’s national parks are from an ethnic minority, compared to around 14 per cent of the nation… but – and I don't mean to be crude – so what?

I find the idea that there’s something "racist" about the fact that ethnic minorities tend not to live in or visit rural areas idiotic at best. Immigrants and ethnic minorities are concentrated in urban areas mainly because of the economic and cultural opportunities cities offer.

They’re not excluded en masse by those who live in the countryside.

And quite frankly – this idea that the countryside or national parks are inaccessible for people who happen to have brown skin is utter tosh.

National parks are free to visit. Free. It costs zero, zilch to enjoy a national park. It’s also free to visit the hundreds of country parks littered across the UK.

I love the countryside, I’ve lived there, and spend a lot of my free time there. I personally have never seen or experienced anything untoward when it comes to my being there as a black woman.

As far as I’m concerned, these so-called racist barriers to accessing the countryside are much ado about nothing.