What moves people. Stories of walking, wheeling and cycling in County Durham and Cornwall

What gets people in rural and coastal places walking, wheeling, cycling and using public transport? What gets in their way?

This is what the COAST project wanted to find out. From 2023 to 2025, a group of researchers at the Universities of Exeter, Durham, and Cambridge studied active and sustainable travel in rural and coastal places in County Durham and Cornwall. We analysed policies, interviewed local policy makers, and spent time with residents. Some people took us along on walks, cycle and bus rides, some told us about their experiences over a cup of tea, and others shared photographs and drew maps of their transport and travel. 

The stories in this booklet convey our findings as fiction. None of them happened just as described. Yet they are not completely made up. They bring together the different experiences that people shared with us. These stories show how difficult it can be to get around in rural places, especially when the infrastructures are thin and resources are tight. In the face of these difficulties, though, people find ways of coping and even enjoying their modes of transport.