ABSTRACT
Recent political discourses have highlighted the benefits to health associated with particular active leisure activities resulting in several national initiatives to encourage increased participation by particular under-represented groups. This chapter presents research findings from the evaluation of a government health initiative in England which aimed to increase young people’s participation in sport and physical activity by promoting mountain biking at a forest location. The evaluation of the Active England project at Bedgebury Forest, Kent, employed an innovative mobile methodology to capture youth experiences and understandings of mountain biking. Drawing upon social and cultural geographical research, this chapter argues that efforts to engage young people in active leisure are dependent upon creating a ‘culture’ of physical activity in spaces which appeal to their own identities and lifestyles. In doing so it stresses the importance of a continued focus on the role of space and landscape as part of the cultural experience of sport and leisure activities and for approaches to research on sport events.
