United Kingdom national parks

The National Parks (Welsh: Parciau Cenedlaethol, Scottish Gaelic: Pàircan Nàiseanta) of the United Kingdom are to be found in England, Scotland, and Wales. There are no national parks in Northern Ireland.

Lesser designations also exist: the National Landscapes of England and Wales, the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty of Northern Ireland, and the National Scenic Areas of Scotland.

Understand edit

See also: Walking in the United Kingdom

Each park is operated by its own National Park Authority, with two "statutory purposes":

to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area, and
to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the park's special qualities by the public.

Despite the name, National Parks in the UK are quite different from those in many other countries, where National Parks are owned and managed by the government as a protected community resource, and permanent human communities are not a part of the landscape. In the UK, National Parks can include substantial towns and villages, and land uses such as farming and forestry, which are often integral parts of the landscape. Land within a National Park remains largely in private ownership, and land access is usually subject to the same restrictions as elsewhere in the country, but access facilities (gates and signs etc) are often better inside the park.

National Parks in the UK have no admission charges, and there may only be a road sign to indicate that you are entering a park.

National parks edit

The United Kingdom has 15 national parks; of these, 10 are in England, 3 in Wales, and 2 in Scotland:

Name	Photo	Country
Brecon Beacons		Wales
Norfolk Broads		England
Cairngorms		Scotland
Dartmoor		England
Exmoor		England
Lake District		England
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs		Scotland
New Forest		England
Northumberland		England
North York Moors		England
Peak District		England
Pembrokeshire Coast		Wales
Snowdonia		Wales
South Downs		England
Yorkshire Dales		England

National Landscapes and National Scenic Areas edit

National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the UK(2008)

National Landscapes are 41 government-defined areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Until 2024, all National Landscapes were known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), but this name is now only used in Northern Ireland.

The equivalent in Scotland is the National Scenic Area (NSA), designated on behalf of the Scottish Government. There are 40 designated NSAs.

Name	Photo	Country
Anglesey		Wales
Antrim Coast		Northern Ireland
Antrim Glens		Northern Ireland
Ardnamurchan		Scotland
Arnside and Silverdale		England
Assynt - Coigach		Scotland
Ben Nevis		Scotland
Binevenagh		Northern Ireland
Blackdown Hills		England
Cannock Chase		England
Causeway Coast		Northern Ireland
Chichester Harbour		England
Chilterns		England
Clwydian Range		Wales
Cornwall		England
Cotswolds		England
Cranborne Chase		England
Cuillin Hills		Scotland
Dedham Vale		England
Deeside		Scotland
Dee Valley		Wales
Dornoch Firth		Scotland
Dorset		England
East Devon		England
East Stewartry Coast		Scotland
Eildon and Leaderfoot		Scotland
Fleet Valley		Scotland
Forest of Bowland		England
Garvellachs		Scotland
Glen Affric		Scotland
Glen Lyon		Scotland
Glen Strathfarrar		Scotland
Glencoe		Scotland
Gower		Wales
Harris		Scotland
High Weald		England
Howardian Hills (see Ashdown Forest)		England
Hoy and West Mainland		Scotland
Isle of Wight		England
Isle of Mull		Scotland
Isles of Scilly		England
Jura		Scotland
Kent Downs		England
Kintail		Scotland
Knapdale		Scotland
Knoydart		Scotland
Kyle of Tongue		Scotland
Kyles of Bute		Scotland
Lagan Valley		Northern Ireland
Lecale Coast		England
Lincolnshire Wolds		England
Lleyn		Wales
Loch na Keal next Mull		Scotland
Loch Rannoch		Scotland
Loch Shiel		Scotland
Loch Tummel		Scotland
Lochnagar		Scotland
Lunga, Treshnish Isles		Scotland
Lynn of Lorn		Scotland
Malvern Hills		England
Mendip Hills		England
Moidart		Scotland
Morar		Scotland
Mourne		Northern Ireland
Nidderdale		England
Nith Estuary		Scotland
North Arran		Scotland
North Devon (see Devon)		England
North Norfolk Coast		England
North Pennines		England
North Uist		Scotland
North Wessex Downs		England
Northumberland Coast		England
Northwest Sutherland		Scotland
Quantock Hills		England
Ring of Gullion		Northern Ireland
River Earn		Scotland
River Tay		Scotland
Scarba		Scotland
Shetland		Scotland
Shropshire Hills		England
Small Isles		Scotland
Solway Coast, Cumbria		England
South Devon (see Devon)		England
South Lewis		Scotland
South Uist Machair		Scotland
Sperrin		Northern Ireland
St Kilda		Scotland
Strangford Lough, County Down		Northern Ireland
Suffolk Coast		England
Suffolk Heaths		England
Surrey Hills		England
Tamar Valley		England
Trotternish		Scotland
Upper Tweeddale in Scottish Borders		Scotland
West Wiltshire Downs		England
Wester Ross		Scotland
Wye Valley		Wales/England

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