These are the rules and policies for using Visit Lyndhurst. We have written them in plain English and kept each one as short as it can be while still doing its job, so you can find what you need without wading through legal jargon.
The short version
Most people read Visit Lyndhurst without telling us anything about themselves, and that is how we like it. Here is what actually happens, before you get to the detail.
- Reading the site. Our web host keeps standard server logs (your IP address, browser and the pages you asked for) so the site stays secure and working. We use Google Analytics to count visits and see which guides are useful; the cookie policy explains how to switch it off.
- Maps. When a page shows one of our interactive maps, your browser fetches map images from OpenStreetMap’s servers and the map code from cdnjs, so they see your IP address. If you never open a page with a map, nothing is sent to them. The Directions buttons only send anything to Google if you click them.
- Forms. If you sign up for the weekly email, contact us or suggest a listing, we keep what you typed for as long as we need it to deal with it. You can unsubscribe from the email with one click, and you can ask us to delete your details at any time.
- Advertising. The site is paid for by advertising. There are no advertising cookies yet. When ads arrive, we will ask before any advertising cookies are set, and adverts will always be labelled and kept apart from our guides.
- Listings. Directory listings are free. We check them, we can edit or remove them, and nobody can pay to be recommended in an article.
- Photos. Most photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licences and carry a credit wherever they appear.
The policies below are the full versions. Where the short version and a policy differ, the policy is the one that counts.
Privacy and cookies
Our privacy notice explains what personal information we collect through the newsletter, contact and listing forms and our server logs, why we need it, how long we keep it and how to use your rights, including how to complain.
Our cookie policy lists the cookies the site uses, explains what our maps send to other services and how to switch analytics off, and sets out how we will ask for your consent before any advertising cookies are used.
Using the site
If you read only one, make it the terms of website use, which apply to everyone who visits. They cover checking details before you travel, using our walk descriptions safely on the forest, links to other websites and the limits of our responsibility. They also say who runs Visit Lyndhurst.
The acceptable use policy sets out what you must not send us or do on the site, such as submitting false information, sharing other people’s personal details or scraping our pages.
Listings, the newsletter and your submissions
Our terms and conditions cover free listings in our directory, the weekly This Weekend in Lyndhurst email and anything you send us through our forms. They explain how we check listings, how quickly we deal with corrections and why no one can pay to be recommended in our guides.
Copyright and photo credits
The copyright notice explains what you can do with our words, how our photographs are licensed and credited, where our map data comes from and how to report a copyright concern. It also carries the full list of photo credits.
Questions about these policies
If something isn’t clear, or you want to use one of your data protection rights, send us a message through our contact form. Our about page explains how the site is researched and paid for.