National parks of the United Kingdom
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National parks of the United Kingdom (; ) are 15 areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape across the country. Despite their name, they are quite different from
national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
s in many other countries, which are usually owned and managed by governments as protected community resources, and which do not usually include permanent human communities. In the United Kingdom, an area designated as a national park may include substantial settlements and human land uses that are often integral parts of the landscape. Land within national parks remains largely in private ownership. These parks are therefore not "national parks" according to the internationally accepted standard of the
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
but they are areas of outstanding
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...
where planning controls are significantly more restrictive than elsewhere. Within the United Kingdom there are fifteen national parks of which ten are in England, three in Wales, two in Scotland, and none in Northern Ireland. An estimated 110 million people visit the national parks of England and Wales each year. Recreation and tourism bring visitors and funds into the parks, to sustain their conservation efforts, and support the local population through jobs and businesses. However, these visitors also bring problems, such as
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
and
traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...
, and conflicts over the use of the parks' resources. Access to cultivated land in England and Wales is restricted to public rights of way and permissive paths. (Under the
Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), also known as the CRoW Act and "Right to Roam" Act, is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000. Right to roam The Act impleme ...
there is a right of access for walkers to most but not all uncultivated areas in England and Wales.)


Administration

National parks are a
devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...
matter, so each of the
countries of the United Kingdom Since 1922, the United Kingdom has been made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales (which collectively make up Great Britain) and Northern Ireland (#Terminology, variously described as a country, province, jurisdiction or region). The ...
has its own policies and arrangements for them. The national parks of
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and those of
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...
are governed by separate laws: the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 in Scotland and the
National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 97) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the National Parks Commission which later became the Countryside Commission and then the Count ...
for England and Wales. The Environment Act 1995 defines the role of national parks in England and Wales as being: *to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the National Park, and *to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the National Parks by the public. The Broads differs from the twelve national parks in England & Wales in having a third purpose that carries equal weight, that of: *protecting the interests of navigation. The Scottish national parks have two further statutory purposes: *to promote sustainable use of the natural resources of the area, and *to promote sustainable economic and social development of the area's communities.


National park authorities

Following the Environment Act 1995, each English and Welsh national park has been managed by its own national park authority, a special-purpose
local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
, since April 1997. Previously, all but the
Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...
and the
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
were governed by
county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...
s. The
Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...
and the
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
, the first two national parks to be designated, were under the control of planning boards that were independent of county councils. Similar national park authorities have also been established for the Scottish parks under separate legislation. Slightly over half the members of each national park authority are appointees from the principal local authorities covered by the park; the remainder are appointed by the
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, also referred to as the environment secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for ...
(in England) or the Welsh Ministers (in Wales), some to represent local
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
or
community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
councils, others to represent the national interest.
The Broads The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly used ...
Authority also has members appointed by
Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...
,
Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
Port Authority and the
Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
. The national park authorities and the Broads Authority are covered by regulations similar to those that apply to local councils. The national park authority for each park addresses the stated aim in partnership with other organisations, such as the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
. In cases where there may be conflict between the two purposes of designation, the first (to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the National Park) must take precedence under the Sandford Principle. This principle was given
statutory A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...
force by section 62 of the Environment Act 1995, although there are no explicit provisions as to how wildlife is to be preserved. The national park authorities also have a duty to foster the economic and social wellbeing of communities in pursuit of these purposes. Funding for national parks is complex, but the full cost of each park authority is funded from central government funds. In the past this was partly paid for by local authorities and refunded to them from the government to varying degrees. In 2003/2004 the park authorities received around £35.5 million of central government funding.


Other organisations

The UK's national parks are members of National Parks UK, which works to promote them, and to facilitate training and development for staff of all the parks.
Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...
is the statutory body responsible for designating new national parks in England, subject to approval by the Secretary of State;
Natural Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales () is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Countryside Council for Wales, E ...
designates new national parks in Wales, subject to approval by the Welsh Ministers. All fifteen United Kingdom national parks are represented by the Association of National Park Authorities, which exists to provide the park authorities with a single voice when dealing with government and its agencies. The Campaign for National Parks (formerly Council for National Parks) is a charity that works to protect and enhance the national parks of England and Wales.


Legal designation

National parks were first designated under the
National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 97) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the National Parks Commission which later became the Countryside Commission and then the Count ...
, and in England and Wales any new national park is designated under this Act, and must be confirmed by the
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, also referred to as the environment secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for ...
. The 1949 Act came about after a prolonged campaign for public access to the countryside in the United Kingdom with its roots in the Industrial Revolution. The first 'freedom to roam' bill was introduced to Parliament in 1884 by
James Bryce James Bryce may refer to: * James Bryce (geologist) (1806–1877), Irish naturalist and geologist * James Bryce (footballer) (1884–1916), Scottish footballer * James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce (1838–1922), British jurist, historian and politicia ...
but it was not until 1931 that a government inquiry recommended the creation of a 'National Park Authority' to select areas for designation as national parks. Despite the recommendation and continued lobbying and demonstrations of public discontent, such as the 1932
Kinder Scout Kinder Scout is a moorland plateau and National nature reserve (United Kingdom), National Nature Reserve in the Dark Peak of the Derbyshire Peak District in England. Part of the moor, at above sea level, is the highest point in the Peak Distric ...
mass trespass in the Peak District, nothing further was done until a 1945
white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...
on national parks was produced as part of the Labour Party's planned post-war reconstruction, leading in 1949 to the passing of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act. In England and Wales, as in Scotland, designation as a national park means that the area has been identified as being of importance to the national heritage and as such is worthy of special protection and attention. Unlike the model adopted in many other countries, such as the US and Germany, this does not mean the area is owned by the state. National parks in the United Kingdom may include substantial settlements and human land uses which are often integral parts of the landscape, and within a national park there are many landowners including public bodies and private individuals.


Origins and growth

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
evidence from
prehistoric Britain Several species of humans have intermittently occupied Great Britain for almost a million years. The earliest evidence of human occupation around 900,000 years ago is at Happisburgh on the Norfolk coast, with stone tools and footprints prob ...
shows that the areas now designated as national parks have been occupied by humans since the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
, at least 5,000 years ago and in some cases much earlier. Before the 19th century relatively wild, remote areas were often seen simply as uncivilised and dangerous. In 1725
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...
described the High Peak as "the most desolate, wild and abandoned country in all England". However, by the early 19th century,
romantic poets Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Neoclassical ideas of the 18th c ...
such as
Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
, Coleridge and
Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ...
wrote about the inspirational beauty of the "untamed" countryside. Wordsworth described the English Lake District as a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy" in 1810. This early vision, based in the
Picturesque Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...
movement, took over a century, and much controversy, to take legal form in the UK with the
National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 97) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the National Parks Commission which later became the Countryside Commission and then the Count ...
. The idea for a form of national parks was first proposed in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in the 1860s, where
national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
s were established to protect
wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...
areas such as
Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is a national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service ...
. This model has been used in many other countries since, but not in the United Kingdom. After thousands of years of human integration into the landscape, Britain lacks any substantial areas of wilderness. Furthermore, those areas of natural beauty so cherished by the romantic poets were often only maintained and managed in their existing state by human activity, usually agriculture.


Government support is established

By the early 1930s increasing public interest in the countryside, coupled with the growing and newly mobile urban population, was generating increasing friction between those seeking access to the countryside and landowners. Alongside of direct action trespasses, such as the
mass trespass of Kinder Scout The mass trespass of Kinder Scout was a trespass protest at Kinder Scout in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, on 24 April 1932. The protest sought to highlight that walkers were denied access to areas of open countryside which had been fenc ...
, several voluntary bodies took up the cause of public access in the political arena. In 1931 Christopher Addison (later Lord Addison) chaired a government committee that proposed a 'National Park Authority' to choose areas for designation as national parks. A system of national reserves and nature sanctuaries was proposed: However, no further action was taken after the intervention of the 1931 General Election. The voluntary Standing Committee on National Parks first met on 26 May 1936 to put the case to the government for national parks in the UK. After World War II, the Labour Party proposed the establishment of national parks as part of the post-war reconstruction of the UK. A report by John Dower, secretary of the Standing Committee on National Parks, to the Minister of Town and Country Planning in 1945 was followed in 1947 by a Government committee, this time chaired by Sir Arthur Hobhouse, which prepared legislation for national parks, and proposed twelve national parks. Sir Arthur had this to say on the criteria for designating suitable areas:


National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949

The
National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 97) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the National Parks Commission which later became the Countryside Commission and then the Count ...
was passed with all party support. The first ten national parks were designated as such in the 1950s under the Act in mostly poor-quality agricultural upland. Much of the land was still owned by individual landowners, often private estates, but there was also property owned by public bodies such as
the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
, or charities which allow and encourage access such as the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
. Accessibility from the
cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
was also considered important. The
Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...
, site of the Kinder Scout trespass, was designated the first national park in April 1951 under the
Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...
led Labour administration. This was followed in the same year by the designations of three more national parks; the Lake District, Snowdonia and Dartmoor. By the end of the decade the national park family had increased to ten with the Pembrokeshire Coast, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor, Northumberland and Brecon Beacons national parks all being designated. Other areas were also considered: for example, parts of the coast of
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
were considered as a possible national park in the 1950s but were thought to be too disparate to form a single coherent national park and were eventually designated as an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
(AONB) instead. The north
Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...
were also considered for designation as a national park in the 1970s but the proposal was thought to be administratively too difficult because the area was administered by five different
county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...
s.


Later additions

The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads was designated through its own Act of Parliament in 1988, gaining status equivalent to that of a national park.
The Broads The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly used ...
in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
are not in the strictest sense a national park, being run by a separately constituted Broads Authority set up by a special Act of Parliament in 1988 and with a structure in which conservation is subordinate to navigational concerns (see Sandford Principle below), but it is generally regarded as being "equivalent to" a national park. Separate legislation was passed in Scotland, namely the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000, and from this two Scottish national parks, the
Cairngorms The Cairngorms () are a mountain range in the eastern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national parks of Scotland, national park (the Cairn ...
and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, were created. The
New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...
, which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land,
heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...
and old-growth
forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
in the heavily populated south east of England, was designated as a national park on 1 March 2005. On 31 March 2009 it was announced that the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...
would be designated a national park; the
South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...
came into effect on 31 March 2010. Of the English and Welsh national parks that were originally proposed, two remain undesignated: the Cambrian Mountains and Cornish Coast.


National parks


Overview

Of the twelve national parks in England and Wales, four are in the North of England, two in the Southwest, one in the North Midlands, two (the most recently designated) in the South and three in Wales. They cover 10.7 per cent of England and 19.9 per cent of Wales. They touch only sixteen English counties and there is no national park in the southern
Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
. The
Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park () is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of National parks of Scotland, two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National ...
, at , is the largest of the national parks. Outside the Scottish Highlands the largest is the
Lake District National Park The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
, which, at , is the largest National Park in England and the second largest in the United Kingdom.
Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...
, at , is the largest national park in Wales and the fourth largest in the United Kingdom. The smallest national park in England and Wales, and in the United Kingdom, is
The Broads The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly used ...
, at . The total area of the national parks in England and Wales is about , for an average of 1,251 square kilometres but a median of 1,344 square kilometres. In the United Kingdom the total increases to 22,660 square kilometres (average 1511 km2). The most-visited national park is the Lake District, with 15.8 million visitors in 2009, although by visitor days the South Downs at 39 million compares to 23.1 million for the Lake District.


List of national parks


National parks in England

(Numbers are those on map.) *
Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...
(1): The central location of this park provides for the coincidence of the northern limit of many lowland species, such as the stemless thistle and the southern extent of many northern upland species, such as the
mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a species of Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution ...
and globe flower. It is located at the southern end of the
Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...
, known as the backbone of England. The Carboniferous Limestone of the White Peak in its southern and central areas, gives rise to peaks formed by harder reef limestone and dales rich in wildlife (typically over fifty species of wildflower and herb per square metre) gouged out by meltwater from the
Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
. In the north, east and west is the Dark Peak where the rocks are
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...
,
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
and
gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for ...
and where layers of
peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
have given rise to stark moorland landscapes. *
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
(2): England's largest national park has geology providing a dramatic record of nearly 500 million years, with evidence of colliding continents, deep oceans, tropical seas, and kilometre-thick ice sheets. The area has the largest and deepest lakes and highest peaks in England. This landscape is overlaid by thousands of years of human activity and the habitats for wildlife to be found in the park include mires, limestone pavement, upland heath, screes and arctic-alpine communities, lakeshore wetlands, estuary, coastal heath and dunes. *
Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...
(4): Dartmoor is the largest and wildest area of open country in the south of England.
Granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
, intruded 295 million years ago underlies 65% of the park and is surrounded by sedimentary rocks including limestones, shales and sandstones belonging to the
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
and
Devonian period The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era during the Phanerozoic eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian period at million years ago ( Ma), to the beginning of the succeeding C ...
s. Almost half of the park is moorland, and within it are four separate national nature reserves, including the 366 hectare East Dartmoor Woods & Heath. There are also over forty locations designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest within the national park covering 26,169 hectares. Dartmoor is also home to England's second highest waterfall ( Canonteign Falls) and highest man made waterfall. *
North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...
(6): Boasting archaeology dating from the end of the last ice age, the park contains the largest Iron Age hill-fort in the North of England, Roman forts, castles and abbeys, moorland crosses and important early industrial sites. Its ancient and varied geology includes the evidence left behind of ancient oceans, huge river deltas and great ice sheets. The evidence left behind by these events has brought geologists to the area for over a century, including figures such as William Smith, 'the father of English geology'. The area is also famous for its fossils, from ammonites to dinosaur footprints. *
Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...
(7): The park straddles the central Pennines. At the Millstone Grit-capped Three Peaks it rises to over 2,300 ft, contrasting with its deep cut valleys (dales) from which it derives its name. In the south the park boasts limestone (
Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
) scenery, with its crags, pavements and extensive cave systems, whilst in the north valleys with distinctive stepped profiles are separated by extensive moorland plateaux. A different geology shapes the grassy rounded hills with deep ravines in the west known as the Howgill Fells. The park is noted for its glacial and post-glacial landforms including the drumlin fields, Norber erratics, and the moraines and post-glacial lakes of
Semerwater Semerwater () is the second largest natural lake in North Yorkshire, England, after Malham Tarn. It is half a mile (800 m) long, covers and lies in Raydale, opposite the River Bain, North Yorkshire, River Bain. A private pay and display parking ...
and
Malham Tarn Malham Tarn is a glacial lake near the village of Malham in the Yorkshire Dales, England. The lake is one of only eight upland alkaline lakes in Europe. At an altitude of above sea level it is the highest marl lake in the United Kingdom. It ...
. The park also boasts waterfalls including Hardraw Force and the Aysgarth Falls. *
Exmoor Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...
(8): The majority of Exmoor's rocks were formed during the
Devonian period The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era during the Phanerozoic eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian period at million years ago ( Ma), to the beginning of the succeeding C ...
of geological history between about 410 and 360 million years ago, the most prominent being old and new red sandstones, Devonian slates, shales and limestone. The park rises to 519m at Dunkery Beacon and boasts 55 km of coastline towards which flow a number of rivers, most notably the River Lyn. In contrast the
Exe Exe or EXE may refer to: * .exe, a file extension * exe., abbreviation for Executive (disambiguation)#Role, title, or function, executive Places * River Exe, in England * Exe Estuary, in England * Exe Island, in Exeter, England Transportation a ...
flows south and east. A number of settlements are found within the park including the much-visited Lynton and Lynmouth. *
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
(9): With a population of around 2,000 people this is the least populated of all the national parks in England and Wales. Rising to 815m at The Cheviot, the park contains over 1,100 km of paths for walking, cycling and horse-riding. The park also contains a Ramsar site (an international site for the protection of wetlands) as well as 31
Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
, six Special Areas of Conservation and three national nature reserves. The park's human heritage is no less impressive than its natural diversity, with 259 listed buildings, 432
scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
s and 3,883 Historic Environment Records. *
The Broads The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly used ...
(11): Britain's largest nationally protected wetland, the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads is considered to be the eleventh member of the national park family, but in fact was designated through its own Act of Parliament in 1988 gaining similar status to a national park. The Broads was not established as a national park, but was described at the time as having a 'status equivalent to that of a national park'. It has since adopted the title 'national park' and is a member of the UK national parks family, with the same level of landscape protection and an additional statutory purpose: to protect the interests of navigation. Its rivers, broads (shallow lakes), marshes and fens make this area rich in rare habitats, supporting myriad plants and animals. It is also one of Europe's most popular inland waterways. There are six rivers (Bure, Ant, Thurne, Yare, Chet and Waveney) and 63 broads within the park, comprising over 125 miles (200 km) of navigable waterways. The How Hill National Nature Reserve is wholly contained within the boundaries of the park, as well as 28
Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
, most of which fall under the
Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...
on Wetlands of International Importance. *
New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...
(12): England's smallest national parkwww.newforestnpa.gov.uk/learning-about/figures/numbers-30,000-to-120m
/ref> was designated as a hunting ground by
William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
almost 1,000 years before it became a national park and has its own section in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
, in 1086. Originally the term 'forest' referred to the designation as a hunting ground subject to forest law, not to a collection of trees and today less than half the national park is tree-covered (22,300 hectares).www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/learning-about/figures/numbers-1,000-to-30,000
The rest is heather- and bracken-covered heath, open pasture, marsh, villages and coastline, and the park contains the largest remaining lowland heath in Europe as well as three quarters of Europe's 120 lowland valley mires. 38,000 hectares of the park is covered by the historic ' Perambulation' in which commoners’ rights apply and their animals can roam freely. Amongst the 700 species of wildflower in the forest grow the blue marsh gentian and the bog orchid and the park is the only place in Britain where the wild gladiolus grows. The park is home to five types of deer, all species of British
newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...
, all three native species of British
snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
, the UK's largest breeding population of the
Dartford warbler The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is d ...
, the rare southern damselfly with thirty colonies, thirteen native species of British
bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...
and the New Forest cicada, rediscovered in 1962. The park also contains a wealth of human history with 214
scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
s. *
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...
(13): The most recently designated national park in the United Kingdom is a line of hills that run from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east. The underlying geology of the eastern half, from the
River Arun The River Arun () is a river in the English county of West Sussex. At long, it is the longest river entirely in Sussex and one of the longest starting in Sussex after the River Medway, River Wey and River Mole. From the series of small stre ...
to
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...
, is mainly hills made of
chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
. To the west of the Arun, the area is wider and includes not only chalk hills but also part of the Weald made of sandstones and clay. Most of the rocks that make up the South Downs were formed 120 million years ago, uplifted by earth movements and pushed up into a huge dome about 125 miles long and 50 miles wide which was then worn away to form the North Downs, South Downs and the plain of the Weald. Amongst the key habitats overlaying this geology are chalk grassland, lowland heath and floodplain grazing marsh. The park rises to 280 metres at Blackdown in Sussex. The park has the highest population of any national park in the UK which at 107,929 is bigger than the next two largest combined (Lake District: 42,000 and Peak District: 38,000). The park has a wealth of cultural heritage from evidence in
Boxgrove Boxgrove is a village, parish, ecclesiastical parish and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chichester (district), Chichester District of the English county of West Sussex, about north east of the city of Chichester. The village is ...
of the earliest humans, through to contemporary arts, such as Edward James’ collection of surrealist art at West Dean College. The park contains 600
scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
s, over 5,000 listed buildings, two registered battlefields and 165
conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...
s.


National parks in Wales

*
Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...
(3): The largest national park in Wales, it includes the highest mountain in Ireland, England and Wales, and Wales' largest natural lake. The area is steeped in culture and local history, where more than half its population speak Welsh. Fossil shell fragments on the summit of
Snowdon Snowdon (), or (), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon i ...
date from over 500 million years ago and the ancient ‘Harlech Dome’ of which Snowdon and
Cadair Idris Cadair Idris or Cader Idris is a mountain in the Meirionnydd area of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park near the town of Dolgellau. The peak, which is one of the most popular in Wales for walkers and hikin ...
form the northern and southern extents respectively, was created in the Cambrian Period before the volcanoes erupted. The more recent Ice Age glaciers were at their peak 18,000 years ago in Snowdonia and formed the distinctive U-shaped valleys including
Llanberis Llanberis () is a village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activity, outdoor ac ...
and
Nant Gwynant Nant Gwynant (also spelt Nantgwynant) is a valley in northern Wales. The A498 road descends into the valley in about two miles (3 km) from Pen-y-Gwryd; it follows the Nant Cynnyd, the Afon Glaslyn and alongside Llyn Gwynant, then beside ...
in the north and
Tal-y-llyn Lake Tal-y-llyn Lake, (), also known as Talyllyn Lake and Llyn Myngul, is a large glacial ribbon lake in Gwynedd, North Wales. It is formed by a post-glacial massive landslip damming up the lake within the glaciated valley. The hamlet of Talyllyn ...
in the south. * Pembrokeshire Coast (5): The only UK national park recognised primarily for its coastline, it covers almost all the Pembrokeshire Coast, every offshore island, the Daugleddau estuary and large areas of the Preseli Hills and the Gwaun Valley. It is an ecologically rich area recognised as of international importance for a wide range of high quality habitats and rare species. The park contains thirteen
Special Areas of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
, five
Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...
s, one of three UK marine nature reserves and seven national nature reserves as well as sixty
Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
. The park also contains a wealth of human history and culture, including the UK's smallest city,
St Davids St Davids or St David's (, ,  "David's house”) is a cathedral city in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies on the River Alun and is part of the community of St Davids and the Cathedral Close. It is the resting place of Saint David, Wales's ...
and Iron Age forts. Within the park there are also a total of sixty geological conservation sites ranging from small roadside quarries and isolated crags on hilltops to many kilometres of coastline. *
Brecon Beacons The Brecon Beacons (; ) are a mountain range in Wales. The range includes South Wales's highest mountain, Pen y Fan (), its twin summit Corn Du (), and Craig Gwaun Taf (), which are the three highest peaks in the range. The Brecon Beacons ha ...
(10): The last of the original ten national parks to have been designated in the 1950s, the park straddles the divide between rural mid Wales and industrial South Wales. It is formed from sedimentary rocks from the mid
Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...
through to the late
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
though it is the
Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...
Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...
which is the rock most identified with the park, since it forms the larger part of the different mountain massifs including South Wales' highest point
Pen y Fan Pen y Fan () is the highest peak in South Wales, situated in Brecon Beacons National Park (Bannau Brycheiniog). At above sea-level, it is also the highest British peak south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia. It is the highest point (List of countie ...
at 886m. Like many other upland national parks in the UK, it is glacial activity during the
Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
s which is responsible for many of the well-known landforms. The west of the park is also designated as Fforest Fawr Geopark in recognition of its geological interest, and includes Waterfall Country. A number of former tramroads and the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal running down the Usk valley dating from the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
now serve as recreational facilities.


National parks in Scotland

* Loch Lomond and The Trossachs: The park, the fourth largest in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, includes 21
Munro A Munro (; ) is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevi ...
s (including
Ben Lomond Ben Lomond (, ), , is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Memorial Park and the Loch Lomond and The Trossach ...
, Ben Lui, Beinn Challuim, Ben More and two peaks called Ben Vorlich) and 20 Corbetts. There are two forest parks ( Queen Elizabeth Forest Park and Argyll Forest Park), and two national nature reserves. *
Cairngorms The Cairngorms () are a mountain range in the eastern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national parks of Scotland, national park (the Cairn ...
: The largest national park in the United Kingdom, the heart of it is the eponymous mountain range, the
Cairngorms The Cairngorms () are a mountain range in the eastern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national parks of Scotland, national park (the Cairn ...
, but these mountains form only one part of it, alongside other hill ranges such as the
Angus Glens The Five Glens of Angus are the five Highland glens located in the western portion of the Angus region of Scotland. The five glens are, from west to east: Glen Isla Drained by the River Isla. Glen Prosen Drained by the Prosen Water. Glen C ...
and the
Monadhliath The Monadhliath Mountains , or Monadh Liath, are a range of mountains in Scotland. Monadh Liath is Scottish Gaelic, and means "grey mountain range". Running in a northeast to southwest direction, it lies on the western side of Strathspey, to the ...
, and lower areas like Strathspey and upper
Deeside Deeside () is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the England–Wales border, Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee t ...
. Three major rivers rise in the park: the Spey, the Dee, and the Don.


National parks in Northern Ireland

There are currently no national parks in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
though there have been controversial moves to establish one in the
Mourne Mountains The Mourne Mountains ( ; ), also called the Mournes or the Mountains of Mourne, are a predominantly granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountain in all of Ulster, Slieve Donard ...
. If established, it would stretch from
Carlingford Lough Carlingford Lough (, Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ''Carlinford Loch'') is a glacial fjord or sea inlet in northeastern Ireland, forming part of Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border, the border between Northern Ireland to the nor ...
to
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
and Slieve Croob.


Development and land use planning in national parks

National park authorities are the strategic and local planning authorities for their areas, so that the local district or unitary councils do not exercise planning control in an area covered by a national park. Consequently, they have to perform all the duties of a
local planning authority A local planning authority (LPA) is the local government body that is empowered by law to exercise urban planning functions for a particular area. They exist in the United Kingdom and India. United Kingdom Mineral planning authorities The role ...
. They are responsible for maintaining the
local development framework A local development framework is the spatial planning strategy introduced in England and Wales by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and given detail in Planning Policy Statements 12. In most parts of the two countries, maintaining th ...
— the
spatial planning Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...
guide for their area. They also grant planning consent for development, within the constraints of the Framework. This gives them very strong direct control over residential and industrial development, and the design of buildings and other structures; as well as strategic matters such as mineral extraction. The national park authorities' planning powers vary only slightly from other authorities, but the policies and their interpretation are stricter than elsewhere. This is supported and encouraged by the government who regard: :"National Park designation as conferring the highest status of protection as far as landscape and scenic beauty are concerned." The Countryside — Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development (1997)


Contribution to the local economy

Tourism is an important part of the economy of the regions which contain national parks. Through attractions, shops and accommodation, visitors provide an income and a livelihood to local employers and farmers. This income provides jobs for the park. For example, within the Peak District National Park the estimate in 2004 for visitor spending is £185 million, which supports over 3,400 jobs, representing 27% of total employment in the national park.


Conflicts in national parks

The national park authorities have two roles: to conserve and enhance the park, and to promote its use by visitors. These two objectives cause frequent conflicts between the needs of different groups of people. It is estimated that the national parks of England and Wales receive 110 million visitors each year. Most of the time it is possible to achieve both the original two purposes by good management. Occasionally a situation arises where access for the public is in direct conflict with conservation. Following the ethos of the Sandford Principle, the Environment Act 1995 sets down how a priority may be established between conservation and recreational use. Similar provision has been made for Scottish national parks. Although recreation and tourism bring many benefits to an area, they can also bring a number of problems. The national funding offered to national park authorities is partly in recognition of the extra difficulties created in dealing with these conflicts. ; Congestion of villages and beauty spots : Some of the most popular " honeypot" areas attract large numbers of visitors, resulting in overcrowded car parks, blocked roads, and overstretched local facilities, particularly on Sundays in the summer and on bank holidays. Examples include the areas near Keswick in the Lake District, Castleton and
Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known for Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye, 15 miles (23 km) south-west of Sheffield. It is the largest se ...
in the Peak District, and
Betws-y-Coed Betws-y-Coed () is a village and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The village is located near the confluence of the River Conwy and the River Llugwy and is on the eastern edge of Snowdonia. The population of the co ...
in
Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...
. ; Erosion : Hill-walking and use of other public rights-of-way is an extremely popular use of all the national parks. Heavy use of the most popular paths leads to considerable erosion, but strengthening of paths can be unsightly. Particularly heavy wear is caused by sponsored walks, walks promoted by national books and magazines, by
horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
on unsurfaced
bridleway A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...
s,
mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...
and use of
off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle (ORV), also known as an off-highway vehicle (OHV), overland vehicle or adventure vehicle, is a type of transportation specifically engineered to navigate unpaved roads and surfaces. These include trails, forest roads, and ...
s on green lanes. Examples include
Dovedale Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove, Central England, River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale ...
in the Peak District.
Over-grazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...
, for example, by sheep on hill and moorland areas, can also reduce vegetation, leading to increased erosion. ; Damage and disturbance to wildlife :
Wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...
may be disturbed by the level of use within some of the areas of the parks that are open to the public.
Moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...
and chalk downland is easily damaged by regular use, and takes many years to recover. Moorland birds in particular nest and roost on the ground and are therefore especially sensitive. Dog walking,
orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...
,
mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...
and
hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sports, air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium al ...
are typical activities which are likely to cause disturbance to nesting birds. ; Litter : Litter of all kinds is unsightly and can also cause pollution and harm to livestock and wild animals. Broken glass is a danger to people and, by
focus Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...
ing the rays of the sun, a possible cause of fire, particularly in areas of moorland such as
Exmoor Exmoor () is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simons ...
, parts of the
Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...
and the
North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...
. ; Damage to farmland : Trampling of grass
meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...
s reduces the amount of winter feed for farm animals. Walkers who stray from footpaths may climb over fences or dry stone walls rather than looking out for the
stile A stile is a structure or opening that provides passage for humansrather than animals such as livestockover or through a boundary. Common forms include steps, ladders, or narrow gaps. Stiles are often built in rural areas along footpaths, fen ...
s that often mark the course of footpaths across farmland. Sheep can be injured or even killed by dogs not under proper control, especially at lambing time. ; Local community displacement : Gift shops and
café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...
s which cater for the needs of tourists are often more profitable than shops selling everyday goods for local people (such as butchers or bakers). In some villages where tourist shops are in the majority and there are few shops catering for the local people, the local community may feel pushed out by the tourists. Houses are often very expensive in tourist villages as there is demand for them as second homes or holiday homes by
holiday cottage A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...
firms or well-off people who live elsewhere, or who move to a local home from which they commute to work, making them unaffordable for local people. This is a particular problem in areas within easy commuting distance of large cities, such as the
Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...
, the
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
, the
Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...
, and the
New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...
and
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the ...
. ; Conflict between recreational users : Some forms of use of national parks interfere with other uses. For example, use of high-speed
boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...
s causes
noise pollution Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...
, and conflicts with other uses such as boat trips, yachting, canoeing, and swimming. A
bylaw A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authority. The higher authority, generally a legislature or some other ...
imposing a 10 
knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...
speed limit came into force on
Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...
on 29 March 2005. The new speed limit for Windermere effectively prohibited
speedboats A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard motor, inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, contain ...
and
water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on one or two skis. The sport requires sufficien ...
in the Lake District. Of the 16 larger lakes in the
Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
, only Windermere, Coniston Water,
Derwent Water Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is a lake in the Lake District in North West England, immediately south of Keswick. It is in the unitary authority of Cumberland within the ceremonial county of Cumbria. It is the third largest lake by area, a ...
and
Ullswater Ullswater is a glacial lake in Cumbria, England and part of the Lake District National Park. It is the second largest lake in the region by both area and volume, after Windermere. The lake is about long, wide, and has a maximum depth of . I ...
have a public right of
navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...
; speed limits were imposed on the three lakes other than Windermere in the 1970s and 1980s.


Other designated landscapes

The United Kingdom has a number of other designated landscape areas besides its national parks. Most similar to the parks are
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
which differ in part because of their more limited opportunities for extensive outdoor recreation. Dartmoor, the Lake District, North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales all abut AONBs and in addition the coasts of Exmoor and the North York Moors coincide with
heritage coast A heritage coast is a strip of coastline in England and Wales, the extent of which is defined by agreement between the relevant statutory national agency and the relevant local authority. Such areas are recognised for their natural beauty, wildlife ...
s. All the Parks contain in varying numbers
Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
and national nature reserves. A part of the Brecon Beacons National Park is also designated as one of the
UNESCO Global Geoparks UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...
. Of the various World Heritage Sites in England and Wales, one – the Lake District – is wholly coincident with a national park whilst a part of the
Blaenavon Industrial Landscape Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, in and around Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales, was inscribed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. The Blaenavon Ironworks, now a museum, was a major centre of iron production using locally mined or quarried iron ...
World Heritage Site falls within the Brecon Beacons National Park and parts of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd and of the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales fall within Snowdonia National Park.


See also

*
National parks of Scotland The national parks of Scotland () are managed areas of outstanding landscape where some forms of development are restricted to preserve the landscape and natural environment. At present, Scotland has two national parks: Loch Lomond and The Tross ...
*
National parks of Wales The national parks of Wales () are managed areas of outstanding landscape in Wales, United Kingdom where some forms of development are restricted to preserve the landscape and natural environment. Together, they cover 20% of the land surface of ...
*
List of World Heritage Sites of the United Kingdom The UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural heritage, cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, establis ...
*
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
* Campaign for National Parks * List of national parks * Geology of national parks in Britain


References


External links


National Parks UK website

Campaign for National Parks

Natural England

Natural Resources Wales


— ''from the
Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and r ...
''. {{DEFAULTSORT:National Parks Of The United Kingdom Lists of protected areas of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
* * Lists of parks in the United Kingdom