NatureScot Research Report 1334 - Scottish Outdoor Access Code awareness monitoring, 2021-23
Year of publication: 2024
Authors: Mitchell, D. (NatureScot) and Strachan, V. (Progressive)
Cite as: Mitchell, D. and Strachan, V. 2024. Scottish Outdoor Access Code awareness monitoring, 2021-23. NatureScot Research Report 1334.
Keywords
Outdoor recreation; responsible behaviour; access rights; public messaging; Scottish Outdoor Access Code
Background
Scottish access rights were established through Part 1 of the 2003 Land Reform (Scotland) Act. It is the role of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC or ‘the Code’), introduced by the Act and drawn up by NatureScot, to provide guidance on what ‘responsible behaviour’ means in different places for those exercising their outdoor access rights and the reciprocal responsibilities for those managing land in Scotland. Under the access legislation, responsibility for publicising SOAC is shared between NatureScot and Scotland’s access authorities (the 32 local authorities and the two national park authorities), while NatureScot also has an additional responsibility to promote understanding the Code.
Improving people’s awareness and understanding of SOAC plays an important role in encouraging outdoor participation, protecting our natural environment, and reducing and resolving access-related conflicts. Since its launch in 2005, SOAC has been publicised by NatureScot and other stakeholders via an ongoing programme of communications and education work via a range of media channels.
Since 2021 awareness of SOAC has been monitored annually through a representative online survey of members of the public in Scotland. This short report sets out findings from three waves of SOAC awareness monitoring conducted in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Fieldwork for all three waves was undertaken by Progressive, in partnership with YouGov via questions placed on their Scottish Omnibus.
Before 2021 SOAC awareness questions were included in several other surveys, including Scotland’s People and Nature Survey 2013/14, 2017/18, and 2019/20. All of these past surveys were conducted face-to-face rather than online. As a consequence of this methodological change, 2021 is considered the new baseline for SOAC awareness.
Main findings
- Around half of people are aware of SOAC. Awareness of SOAC is higher among people who visit the outdoors.
- Awareness of Scotland’s access rights to land and inland water is high – only one in ten people said they were not aware of their rights.
- Public awareness of SOAC is growing, while awareness of access rights remains constant.
- When asked about what messaging relating to responsible outdoor behaviour people had encountered, the most commonly recalled topics were about avoiding littering, responsible dog walking and preventing wildfires.
- The influence of demographic factors can be seen on awareness of SOAC and access rights, particularly rurality, socio-economic grouping, and SIMD quintile. Those in urban areas, lower socio-economic grouping and the most deprived quintile reported lower awareness of SOAC and their access rights. Younger people and minority ethnic respondents also tended to have less knowledge and awareness of SOAC and their rights.
Awareness of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code
Participants were asked whether they thought they had heard of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC or ‘the Code’) and, if so, how confident they were in having heard of it. Overall, around half of respondents thought they had heard of the Code (a fifth of respondents definitely had, and three in ten thought they had). These results were consistent with 2022, following an increase in the proportion who said they thought they had heard of it compared to 2021.
Participants were also asked how often they visited the outdoors for leisure and recreation. As observed in previous waves, awareness of the Code was higher among people who indicated that they visited the outdoors (at least once or twice a year) than those who never visited the outdoors. More frequent visitors were also more likely to have heard of the code than less frequent visitors – 28% of people who visited the outdoors at least once a week had definitely heard of SOAC. Almost three quarters of non-visitors had definitely not heard of SOAC, compared to fewer than half of people who had made at least some visits to the outdoors.

Base (all): 1,022 (2021); 1,001 (2022); 1,009 (2023); Visit outdoors at least once or twice a year: 865. Never visit/Don’t know: 144
This chart shows that 49% of all respondents and 45% of visitors to the outdoors have definitely not heard of the Scottish Outdoors Access Code. Twenty-one per-cent and 24% respectively have definitely heard of it and 30% and 31% respectively think they have heard of it.
Awareness of the Code in 2023 varied between demographic groups, including the following differences:
- By age – The youngest age group (18-24) is less likely than all age groups 35+ to have definitely heard of SOAC (13% vs. 21% overall). The two youngest age groups are more likely than average to have definitely not heard of it (55% 18-24 and 56% 25-34 vs. 49% overall).
- By ethnicity – Minority ethnic respondents are more likely than non-minority ethnic respondents to have definitely not heard of SOAC (64% v 48%).
- By socio-economic group – Those in socio-economic group DE (53%) are more likely than AB (45%) to say they have definitely not heard of it.
- By geography – People in rural areas (30%) are more likely than those in urban areas (19%) to have definitely heard of SOAC. People in urban areas (52%) are more likely to have definitely not heard of it than those in rural areas (42%). People in the 20% most deprived SIMD areas are more likely to have not heard of SOAC than those in other quintiles (64% vs. 46%).
Those who have seen/heard information in the last six months about outdoor access rights and responsibilities are more likely to have definitely heard of SOAC than those who have not seen/heard anything (61% vs. 17%). They are also less likely to have definitely not heard of SOAC (15% vs. 53%).
Where have people heard of SOAC?
Those participants who indicated that they had heard of SOAC were asked where they had heard of it and provided with a list of potential information sources. This was a multi-coded question, meaning that each participant could select more than one answer.
Table 1. Where have you heard of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code? Base (all heard of SOAC): 413 (2021); 506 (2022); 524 (2023).
Source | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|
Word of mouth | 20% | 25% | 26% |
Nature or conservation organisation/charity | 18% | 18% | 19% |
Social media | 12% | 14% | 16% |
Scottish Forestry/Forestry and Land Scotland | 16% | 12% | 13% |
TV advert | 9% | 12% | 13% |
VisitScotland iCentre/tourist information office | 13% | 11% | 12% |
News item on TV or radio | 9% | 10% | 12% |
News item/article in newspaper or magazine | 11% | 13% | 10% |
Advertising on a billboard/other public place | 6% | 8% | 9% |
A ranger or ranger service information | 9% | 8% | 9% |
Local Authority | 11% | 9% | 8% |
Promotional material | 11% | 8% | 8% |
Outdoor recreation club or organisation | 11% | 8% | 8% |
Other information office in a countryside setting | 10% | 7% | 8% |
Radio advert | 5% | 4% | 6% |
outdooraccess-scotland.scot website | 10% | 7% | 5% |
School [added as an option in 2022] | - | 6% | 5% |
Advert in newspaper or magazine | 2% | 4% | 4% |
Accommodation information pack | 4% | 3% | 4% |
Local library | 3% | 3% | 3% |
Other | 5% | 4% | 4% |
Don't know/Can't recall | 28% | 19% | 20% |
Among people who had heard of SOAC, word of mouth was the single most commonly mentioned source of awareness in 2023, cited by a quarter of respondents (26%). This was followed by a nature or conservation organisation/ charity (19%), social media (16%), Scottish Forestry/Forestry and Land Scotland (13%) and a TV advert (13%). However, a fifth (20%) didn’t know or recall where they had heard of SOAC.
Results for sources of awareness were broadly consistent between 2022 and 2023. However, between 2021 and 2022 there was an increase in people citing word of mouth as a source (20% to 25%), as well as fewer people stating that they didn’t know where they had heard of it (28% to 19%). Between 2021 and 2023 the percentage of people citing the Outdoor Access Scotland website (outdooraccess-scotland.scot) has halved.
Sources of awareness of SOAC varied little by subgroup in 2023. Some significant differences are listed below:
- By age – The oldest respondents (aged 55+) were more likely to say that they had of SOAC from news item on TV or radio (18% vs. 12% overall).
- By socio-economic group – Higher socio-economic group respondents were more likely to mention a news item/article than lower socio-economic group (19% AB vs. 6% DE).
- Visiting the outdoors - People who ever visit were, unsurprisingly, more likely than those who never visit to have heard of SOAC via Scottish Forestry / Forestry and Land Scotland (13% vs. 2%), a nature or conservation organisation/charity (20% vs. 6%) or promotional material such as the Code or Summary Leaflet (9% vs. none) – please note these differences are significant at the 90% level and should be treated with caution due to the relatively small base size of those who never visit who were aware of SOAC.
What messaging have people encountered?
Respondents who recalled seeing or hearing information about outdoor access rights and responsibilities in the last six months were asked to describe what they had seen or heard in an open-ended follow-up question. The responses were coded for analysis.
The most commonly recalled messaging was around general information about the rules (32%), followed by messaging around litter, vandalism and keeping the countryside clean (19%), along with behaving responsibly in general (18%)
Results have been broadly consistent between the three waves (bearing in mind the relatively small base sizes), although Covid-related instructions have not been mentioned since 2021.
Table 2. Please describe the information or messaging you saw or heard. What was it telling you? Base (all seen/heard messaging): 104 (2021); 122 (2022); 112 (2023).
Messaging encountered | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|
Information about the rules | 19% | 16% | 32% |
Keep it clean – leave no litter/vandalism | 26% | 27% | 19% |
Behave responsibly/respect outdoors/environment | 18% | 17% | 18% |
Respect for livestock/wildlife/other animals | 8% | 14% | 14% |
Keep dogs under control/on a leash | 5% | 13% | 14% |
Mention of source: other | 9% | 11% | 15% |
Responsible camping/fires/BBQs | 13% | 21% | 10% |
Leave gates as you find them | 7% | 10% | 10% |
Mention of source: general signage | 5% | 6% | 2% |
Mention of source: social media | 6% | 2% | 5% |
Follow the rules | 8% | 1% | 5% |
Respect for others/users/landowners | 4% | 3% | 2% |
Stick to path/routes | - | 4% | 1% |
Mention of source: word of mouth | 3% | 2% | 1% |
Safety | 2% | 3% | - |
Fitness/exercise/wellbeing | 5% | - | - |
Covid related e.g. stay at home | 12% | - | - |
Other | 14% | 11% | 12% |
Unsure/can't remember/no reply | 15% | 9% | 10% |
All participants were asked a prompted, multi-coded question about whether they had seen or heard messaging on specific subjects related to SOAC (see Table 3). The most commonly mentioned topic across all three waves was avoiding littering (54% in 2023). Other frequently mentioned topics in 2023 included, responsible dog walking (46%), preventing wildfires (34%), and avoiding disturbance to wildlife (30%).
Results in 2023 were relatively consistent with the previous year, after increases were seen for several topics between 2021 and 2022. Just under a third of people in 2023 stated they had seen no messaging at all, though this proportion appears to have fallen since 2021, when nearly half reported not seeing messaging.
Outdoors visitors were more likely to have seen or heard each of the types of messaging, and less likely to report seeing/hearing none of them, than non-visitors (55% vs. 28%).
Table 3. In general, have you seen or heard any messaging regarding the following issues? Base (all): 1,022 (2021); 1,001 (2022); 1,009 (2023); Visit outdoors at least once or twice a year: 865. Never visit/Don’t know:144.
Messaging | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2023 outdoor visitors | 2023 non-visitors |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Avoiding littering/taking your litter home | 45% | 56% | 54% | 57% | 37% |
Responsible dog walking | 34% | 48% | 46% | 49% | 27% |
Preventing wildfires | 25% | 41% | 34% | 36% | 21% |
Avoiding disturbance to wildlife | 24% | 33% | 30% | 33% | 14% |
Camping responsibly | 28% | 33% | 29% | 31% | 15% |
Parking safely and considerately | 22% | 26% | 21% | 23% | 12% |
Respecting other outdoor users | 24% | 24% | 20% | 22% | 14% |
Following advice from farmers and land managers | 17% | 20% | 17% | 19% | 6% |
Responsibly accessing rivers, lochs or the sea* | - | - | 16% | 17% | 10% |
Responsible hill walking during stalking season* | - | - | 12% | 13% | 6% |
None of these | 46% | 30% | 32% | 28% | 55% |
* category not included in previous surveys
In 2023, messaging encountered varied between demographic groups, including the following differences:
- By ethnicity – Non minority ethnic people are more likely than minority ethnic people to have encountered messaging about preventing wildfires (35% vs. 19%), responsible dog walking (30% vs. 15%), and following advice from farmers/land owners (18% vs. 7%).
- By geography – Rural respondents were more likely than urban respondents to recall encountering most types of messaging, including avoiding disturbances to wildlife (38% vs. 28%), preventing wildfires (41% vs. 30%), camping responsibly (36% vs. 27%), parking safely and considerately.
- By visits to the outdoors – Outdoors visitors were more likely to have seen or heard each of the types of messaging, and less likely to report seeing/hearing none of them, than non-visitors (55% vs. 28%).
Only 11% of participants in 2023 said that they had seen or heard information or messaging in in the last six months regarding outdoor access rights and responsibilities. This figure is consistent with 2022 (12%) and 2021 (10%). Non-visitors to the outdoors were less likely to have encountered this kind of messaging, with only 3% stating that they had, compared with 12% of people who did visit the outdoors.
Awareness of outdoor access rights
Participants were asked whether they were aware that people in Scotland have a right of access to most land and inland water when visiting the outdoors, as long as they behave responsibly. More people were aware of their access rights (when defined this way) than of SOAC. The majority of respondents (87%) were either definitely aware (51%) or thought they were aware (36%) of the right of responsible access to most land and inland water.

Base (all): 1,022 (2021); 1,001 (2022); 1,009 (2023); Visit outdoors at least once or twice a year: 865. Never visit/Don’t Know: 144
This chart shows that 51% overall and 54% of outdoors visitors said they are definitely aware of the access right to land and inland water, with a further 36% overall and 35% of outdoors visitors who think they are aware. Thirteen per cent overall (11% of outdoor visitors) said they were definitely not aware.
The proportion reporting that they were definitely not aware of this fell from 2021 to 2022 and remained consistent in 2023. People who had heard of SOAC were substantially more likely to be aware of their access rights than those who had not.
As seen previously, outdoor visitors were more likely to be definitely aware of the access right (54% vs. 32% of those who never visit), and less likely to be definitely not aware (11% vs. 27%). Among outdoor visitors, awareness of this right has been relatively consistent over the previous two waves.
People in rural areas (62%) are more likely than those in urban areas (47%) to say they are definitely aware of their access rights. People living in the most deprived SIMD quintile (38%) are less likely to be definitely aware of the access right than those in other quintiles (53%).
Conclusions
Public awareness of SOAC reported across these three survey waves is growing, while awareness of access rights remains high. Around half of people are unaware of SOAC, so there remains work to be done in terms of promoting the Code and the guidance it contains among the general public. However, encouragement can be taken from a growing proportion since 2021 of respondents having heard of the Code. Awareness of Scotland’s access rights to land and inland water was high (over four in five at least thought they were aware), particularly among those who visit the outdoors.
A consistent theme across the three years of SOAC awareness monitoring has been the influence of rurality, socio-economic group and SIMD quintile. Those in urban areas, lower socio-economic groups and the most deprived quintile tended to access the outdoors less and have lower awareness, knowledge and confidence in outdoors rights and responsibilities. Younger people and minority ethnic respondents also tended to have less knowledge and awareness of access rights.
Technical Appendix
The data was collected by online survey (Progressive Scottish Omnibus).
The target group for this research study was a representative sample of the Scottish population. The sampling frame used for this study was YouGov’s opt-in panel of Scottish adults. The sample type was non-probability. The sample source was YouGov’s access panel. Respondents were selected using quota sampling on age, socio-economic group, gender and geographic region to reflect the profile of the Scottish population.
Sample sizes for each wave, and associated error margins, are shown in Table 4. The reason for the difference between target and actual samples was standard sampling procedures allowing for slight overage.
Table 4. Details of three waves of SOAC awareness monitoring.
Survey details | Wave 1: 2021 | Wave 2: 2022 | Wave 3: 2023 |
---|---|---|---|
Sample size | 1,022 | 1,001 | 1,009 |
Margins of error (95% confidence interval) | ±0.61% to ±3.06% | ±0.62 to ±3.10% | ±0.61 to ±3.09% |
Fieldwork dates | 14-16 Dec 2021 | 4-9 Nov 2022 | 2-6 Nov 2023 |
Respondents to self-completion studies are self-selecting and complete the survey without the assistance of a trained interviewer. This means that Progressive cannot strictly control sampling and, in some cases, this can lead to findings skewed towards the views of those motivated to respond to the survey.
The sample is judged to represent the target population well.
The final data set was weighted to the Scottish population profile in terms of age, socio-economic group, gender and region. The sample base before weighting is 1022/1001/1009; the weighted sample base is 1022/1001/1009.
Quota controls were used to guide sample selection for this study. This means that we cannot provide statistically precise margins of error or significance testing as the sampling type is non-probability. The margins of error (noted in the method section of this report) should therefore be treated as indicative, based on an equivalent probability sample.
The following methods of statistical analysis were used: Z tests.
All research projects undertaken by Progressive comply fully with the requirements of ISO 20252.