National Park tourism in United Kingdom

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

Slightly less strict designations also exist: the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the National Scenic Area in Scotland.

National parks are a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having its own policies and arrangements. Counted together, the United Kingdom has fifteen national parks with ten in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland. These parks are not truly national parks according to the internationally accepted standard of the IUCN but they are areas of outstanding landscape where habitation and commercial activities are restricted.

All fifteen national parks share two statutory purposes:

To promote understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the national park by the public.
The Scottish national parks have two further statutory purposes:

To promote sustainable economic and social development of the area’s communities.
All of the UK’s national parks are members of National Parks UK, which works to promote the UK national parks family and to facilitate training and development between staff and members of all parks.

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 so land access is usually subject to the same restrictions as elsewhere in the country.

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

Name Photo Country
Brecon Beacons Veil of Snow - Sgwd yr Eira.jpeg Wales
Broads Moored on Barton Broad - - 690479.jpg England
Cairngorms Balmoral Castle 2.jpg Scotland
Dartmoor Saddle tor evening.jpg England
Exmoor Somerset 2008036.jpg England
Lake District Barf LD.jpg England
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs Loch Lomond Balloch Castle.jpg Scotland
New Forest New Forest, Hampshire (460998) (9455070055).jpg England
Northumberland Northumberland National Park.jpg England
North York Moors Cleveland-Way-North-York-Moors.jpg England
Peak District Mam Tor.jpg England
Pembrokeshire Coast Pembrokeshire Coast National Park 03.jpg Wales
Snowdonia Snowdon massif.jpg Wales
South Downs Coastguard Cottages - - 18320.jpg England
Yorkshire Dales The Western Edge of the Yorkshire Dales.jpg England

National Scenic Areas and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the United Kingdom are 41 defined areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, designated originally by the Countryside Agency, on behalf of the government. The equivalent in Scotland is the National Scenic Area. Natural England was set up in 2006 to succeed the Countryside Agency in England, and is a government body responsible for the protection and improvement of the natural environment in England.

National Scenic Area (NSA) is a national landscape designation applied in Scotland. There are 40 designated NSAs. They are considered of national importance based on their outstanding scenic landscapes. National Scenic area is equivalent to the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designation which is used in the other countries of the UK. Since 2003, the superior National Park designation has been introduced. There are 2 National Parks in Scotland.

Name Photo Country
Anglesey A footbridge across a creek on the Anglesey Coastal Path - - 396831.jpg Wales
Antrim Coast Antrim Coast - panoramio.jpg Northern Ireland
Antrim Glens** Glenariff.jpg Northern Ireland
Ardnamurchan Achateny Water Ardnamurchan.jpg Scotland
Arnside and Silverdale The road between Arnside and Silverdale - - 1760381.jpg England
Assynt – Coigach Scotland Inchnadamph Bone Caves.jpg Scotland
Ben Nevis Ben Nevis.jpg Scotland
Binevenagh Binevenagh - - 1553504.jpg Northern Ireland
Blackdown Hills Blackdown Hills , Hillside and Stile - - 1243896.jpg England
Cannock Chase Abraham's Valley, Cannock Chase - - 407107.jpg England
Causeway Coast Causeway coast.jpg Northern Ireland
Chichester Harbour* Entrance to Chichester Harbour - - 1350202.jpg England
Chilterns A Historic View across the Gap in the Chiltern Hills - - 1353511.jpg England
Clwydian Range Moel Arthur, Sir Ddinbych 02.JPG Wales
Cornwall Coast path DSC 8967.jpg England
Cotswolds From Leckhampton Hill across towards Birdlip - - 1551014.jpg England
Cranborne Chase Cranbourne Chase - - 129283.jpg England
Cuillin Hills The Cuillin Hills from the Ord to Tokavaig road - - 967676.jpg Scotland
Dedham Vale Cmglee Manningtree River Stour.jpg England
Deeside Deeside Way - - 453020.jpg Scotland
Dee Valley River Dee Valley from Pontcysyllte - - 370078.jpg Wales
Dornoch Firth Dornoch Firth - - 52109.jpg Scotland
Dorset Durdle Door, Dorset (2004).jpg England
East Devon England
East Stewartry Coast Scotland
Eildon 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 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
Leaderfoot Scotland
Lincolnshire Wolds England
Lleyn Wales
Loch na Keal Scotland
Loch Rammoch Scotland
Loch Shiel Scotland
Loch Tummel Scotland
Lochnagar Scotland
Lunga 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
NorthumberlandCoast 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 England
South Devon (see Devon) England
South Lewis Scotland
South Uist Machair Scotland
Sperrin Northern Ireland
St Kilda Scotland
Strangford Lough Northern Ireland
Suffolk Coast England
Suffolk Heaths England
Surrey Hills England
Tamar Valley England
Trotternish Scotland
Upper Tweeddale Scotland
West Mainland Scotland
West Wiltshire Downs England
Wester Ross Scotland
Wye Valley Wales/England

*In the United Kingdom, the word harbor (American English) is spelled harbour.

**In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the term glen is used in place of the word valley and is more specific.