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People enjoying the coast and countryside across Wales and England are being encouraged to be ‘AdventureSmart’ with the launch of a new outdoor safety campaign – AdventureSmart.UK.

Today at a reception at the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Lord Elis-Thomas will celebrate the roll out across the border of the AdventureSmart initiative which began in Wales with the support of funding from Welsh Government.

Building on the established AdventureSmartWales branding, a strong, eye-catching UK brand has been developed: The aim is to reduce the number of avoidable incidents which the rescue and emergency services deal with each year through the development and promotion of a comprehensive set of safety messages. Last week Lake District Cumbria were the first English region to join Wales in this innovative approach to communicating safety to the many people who explore the region each year. Discussions are now ongoing with other regions across the UK. Whatever the activity, being AdventureSmart is about considering a few simple things to help your day stay great and to ensure that you return safe and sound looking forward to your next adventure. Experts from leading safety and sporting organisations have developed these messages to provide the essential information needed for people to get outdoors, confident that they have prepared for a great day.

People are prompted to ask three questions before they set off:

1. Do I have the right gear?

2. Do I know what the weather will be like?

3. Am I confident I have the knowledge and skills for the day?

A new website, www.adventuresmart.uk provides all the information they need to answer these questions, including detailed information for the AdventureSmart regions.

Many partner organisations involved with tourism and outdoor recreation will be joining forces to spread the AdventureSmart messages far and wide. 

Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Lord Elis-Thomas, said: “I’m delighted that we were able to support the catalyst of this project. We all want people to enjoy the outdoors safely and by working together this project has enabled people to be adventure smart, have the information they need to be prepared and enjoy their time in the great outdoors safely.”