Country Living leveraged its 40th anniversary to launch a social responsibility campaign, transforming its content strategy to become the definitive resource for disabled access to the countryside.
The Challenge
For four decades, Country Living has led the conversation on rural issues, but in marking its 40th birthday, the brand identified a crucial gap – the inaccessibility of the countryside for people with physical disabilities, and the underrepresentation of the disabled community in media.
The core motivation was the conviction that the countryside significantly benefits mental wellbeing, a benefit currently denied to many.
A data-driven approach confirmed this need:
A survey of over 1,000 people from the disabled community revealed that 93% found every trip required meticulous organisation due to scattered or irrelevant accessibility information.
The brand’s challenge was to fill this information void, shift the media narrative from limitations to possibilities, and use its significant reach to make a tangible difference.
The execution
Country Living launched Access for All, a long-term social responsibility campaign with the mission to become the go-to content destination for the disabled community and their support network.
Key initiatives:
Data-driven content strategy
The campaign was directly informed by the initial survey, focusing on creating comprehensive, centralised accessibility guides across all channels.
Content production
Over 12 months, the team produced a series of guides covering beaches, walks, gardens, and holidays. These were published across print and digital platforms, including a dedicated campaign hub on the website.
Interactive mapping
A key deliverable was the launch of an interactive map of accessible walks, featuring recommendations directly from disabled community members.
Authentic voices & ambassadors
The team was determined to amplify the voices of those with lived experience. Country Living consulted with the community on language usage, to ensure an empowering narrative, and recruited high-profile brand ambassadors – including blind adventurer and Ramblers’ President Amar Latif; along with Paralympian Sammi Kinghorn; and therapy dog trainer Chloe Fuller. A regular team of disabled contributors was established across the UK.
The results
The campaign leveraged Country Living’s significant reach (1.5 million unique users, 1.2 million social following) to drive high engagement, deliver strong digital results, and prompt an overwhelmingly positive audience response.
Digital Performance:
| Metric | Result | Context |
| Search ranking | Ranks #4 on Google | For “accessible walks map,” outranking the National Trust |
| Social views | 250,000 views | Total views across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok |
| Video views | 230,000 views | Total video views across platforms |
| Social engagement | 10,000 engagements | Total likes, shares, and comments on social posts |
| Article views | 20,000+ views | Views on online articles with dwell times exceeding one minute |
