 Walking Methodologies in the Uplands of the North York Moors National ParkThomas Ratcliffe Sociological Research Online, 2025, vol. 30, issue 3, 569-593 Abstract: As a research interviewer, walking alongside research participants is a creative methodology that enables researchers to discover more democratic, richer data on places, spaces, and surroundings. This article reflects upon walking methods in National Park landscapes from experiences of working on a social research project, which applied a walking methodology in the North York Moors National Park. From the findings of this project and drawing on walking methods literature, the article argues that walking blurs any cultural–natural divisions and allows the interview to be placed into a natural environment where the interview is influenced and shaped by the landscape. The article contributes to the social sciences by innovatively demonstrating how walking acts as an everyday, collaborative research method which through its multi-sensory interactions is an important approach to understand non-human environments and protected landscapes. Applying a participatory research lens, the article reveals the relationships between walking and routine, heritage, participation, nature, sensory immersion, and identity in a contested environment. Keywords: heritage; multi-sensory; nature-culture relations; non-human; North York Moors National Park; participatory research; place; walking methods (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socres:v:30:y:2025:i:3:p:569-593 DOI: 10.1177/13607804241275350 Access Statistics for this article More articles in Sociological Research Online |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.