The National Parks Of England

England is the largest of the three countries located on Great Britain, where it covers an area of 81,000 square miles / 130,357 square kilometers.

The country is served by a 3,278 mile / 6,000 kilometer coastline and shares a 60 mile / 97 kilometer open border with Scotland and a 159 mile / 257 kilometer open border with Wales. 

Great Britain as a whole is home to fifteen national parks with England being home to ten of them, all of which are described below.

   

THE BROADS NATIONAL PARK

The Broads were designated with national park status in 1989.

The broads, which are a collection of rivers, waterways and shallow pools formed by flooded former peat pits, cover an area of 117 square miles / 303 square kilometers and are located in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.

The park, which is home to several hamlets, villages and market towns, is unique for being the only national park in the country to contain a city, the Norfolk city of Norwich.

The park, which has a 1.6 mile / 2.7 kilometer long coastline and 125 miles / 201 kilometers of navigable waterways, is also home to seven rivers, the longest of which is the 50 mile / 80 kilometer long River Bure, and 63 broads, the largest of which is Hickling Broad which covers an area of 3.6 square miles / 5.9 square kilometers. 

The park is particularly noted for it’s flat and open terrain of  fens, estuaries, marshes and peat bogs, which between them are home to twenty eight special scientific sites of Interest (SSSI) and eight nature reserves which are home to one quarter of Britain’s rarest insect, bird and plant species.

The park, which is the site of thirteen ancient monuments, is also home to several windmills, some of which are in ruins but many of which are still in working order.

Despite being located in the lowest part of the country the park’s highest point is the 124 foot / 38 meter high, Strumpshaw Hill, which is home to an RSPB reserve, a steam museum, a pumping station and the eighteenth century Strumpshaw Hall. 

    

ADDRESS - Yare House, 62-64 Thorpe Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 1RY.

TELEPHONE - 01603  610734.

WEBSITE -  www.enjoythebroads.com

DARTMOOR NATIONAL PARK 

Dartmoor was designated with national park status in 1951.

The park, which covers an area of 592 .2 square miles / 954 square kilometers, is located in the English county of Devon and includes the  largest area of granite uplands in Great Britain. 

The park is made up of several granite hills and tors, great swathes of peat bogs and parts of an ancient royal forest. 

The park is also home to several standing stones and other ancient monuments, including five thousand hut circles and the Grade II listed, Clapper Bridge, located in the small hamlet of Postbridge.

The park also consists of eleven villages and small towns, three visitor centres, a vast country park, a museum and the 90 mile / 140 kilometer, Dartmoor Way, long distance walking path.

As a whole the park, all of which lies at an elevation of over 79 foot / 24 meters high, is criss-crossed by several water courses, the longest of which is the river which gives the park it’s name the River Dart. The park is also home to eight man made reservoirs and dams.  

The park’s highest points are located at High Wilhays, at 2,037 foot / 621 meters above sea level and it’s near neighbour, Yes Tor, at 2,031 foot / 619 meters above sea level.

ADDRESS - Parke, Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ13 9JQ.

TELEPHONE – 01626 832093. 

WEBSITE – www.dartmoor.gov.uk

  

EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK

Exmoor was designated with national park status in 1954.

The park, which covers an area of 267 square miles / 692 square kilometers, is located in the English counties of Devon and Somerset.

The park, which is particularly noted for it’s vast swathes of heathland, ancient woodland, blanket bogs and it’s 35 miles / 50 kilometers of heritage coast located along the Bristol Channel, is also home to several special scientific sites of interest (SSSI) and sixteen conservation areas.

The park is also served by 300 miles / 483 kilometers of water courses, the longest of which is the river which gives the park it’s name, the 54 mile / 86 kilometer long River Exe. 

The park is renowned for it’s many animal and plant species the most famous of which is it’s rare breed, indigenous ponies which run feral throughout the parkland.

The park is also home to several hamlets, villages and small market towns all of which are linked by way of several isolated paths, bridleways and B roads.

The park is also served by three visitor centres, five long distance walking paths, a narrow gauge railway, the twelfth century Dunster Castle and 208 ancient monuments, including the Grade I listed Tarr Seps clapper bridge, supposedly the oldest bridge in the country.

The park’s highest elevation is situated on Culbone Hill, located along it’s Bristol Channel coastline, at 1,030 foot / 314 meters high, an area which contains mainland Britain’s highest coastal cliffs. 

ADDRESS – Exmoor House, Dulverton, Somerset, TA22 9HL.

TELEPHONE – 01398 323665.

WEBSITE -  www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk

 

THE LAKE DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK 

The Lake District National Park was the second in the country to be designated as such when it opened in May, 1951.

The park, which is 885 square kilometers / 2,2292 square kilometers in size and has a 26 mile / 41.8 kilometer coastline, is located solely in the English county of Cumbria. 

The park comprises of nineteen major lakes and seven tarns or pools, thirteen valleys and seven major hill groups or fells.

But more importantly the park is renowned for being home to England’s highest point, Scafell Pike, at 3,209 feet / 978 meters high, England’s largest lake, Lake Windemere, at 9 square miles / 14.8 square kilometers and England’s deepest lake, Wastwater, at 258 feet / 79 meters deep. The park is also home to several impressive waterfalls, the highest of which is Spout Force which boasts a 172 foot / 52.4 meter drop.

The park’s longest river is the 60 mile / 96.5 kilometer long River Derwent which travels in a northerly direction between it’s source at Barrowdale and out to Derwent Water.

The park is also renowned for being home to Britain’s largest family of native fell ponies and the largest group of native red squirrels.

Despite being quite highly populated the park is home to just a few towns and villages the largest of which are the towns of Ambleside, Bowness, Keswick and Windemere. Notable villages of the park include Allerdale, Coniston, Barrowdale, Buttermere, Grasmere, Newby Bridge, Gosforth and Hawkshead.  

The park is also served by an RSPB reserve, twenty three conservation areas, hundreds of ancient and listed buildings, vast tracts of oak woodland, the 1,043 foot / 318 meter high Whinlatter Pass and three visitor centres.  

ADDRESS - Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 7RL. 

TELEPHONE -  01539 724 555. 

WEBSITE -  www.lakedistrict.gov.uk

  

THE NEW FOREST NATIONAL PARK 

The New Forest was designated with national park status in 2005.

The park, which covers an area of 219 square miles / 566 square kilometers, is located in the English counties of Hampshire and Wiltshire.

The park, which is particularly renowned for it’s vast tracts of unenclosed ancient pastureland, heathland and forestry, dates back to 1079 after King William the Conqueror designated the area with royal park status.

The park, which is home to forty four small towns and villages, where the park’s indigenous ponies can be seen roaming completely free, has also been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest SSSI, a Special Area of Conservation SAC, a Special Protection Area SPA and a Ramsar wetland site.

The park is served by thirty two water courses the largest of which is the 14 mile / 22 kilometer long River Lymington followed closely by the 12 mile / 20 kilometer long River Beaulieu.

The park is also served with an arboretum, a wildlife park, a reptile centre, a visitor centre and miles of walking paths, bridleways and roadways.

The park’s highest point is located in the village of Normansland at 423 feet / 129 meters high and the park’s highest scenic point is located on the summit of Picket Hill at 311 feet / 95 meters in height.

ADDRESS - Lymington Town Hall, Avenue Road, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 9ZG.

TELEPHONE – 01590 646600.

WEBSITE – www.newforestnpa.gov.uk

NORTHUMBERLAND NATIONAL PARK 

The Northumberland National Park became accessible to the public in 1956.

As it’s name suggests the park, which covers an area of 400 square miles / 1,030 square kilometers, lies wholly within the English county of Northumberland.

The park, which is particulalry renowned for it’s vast tracts of heather moorland, blanket bogs, hay meadows and ancient woodland, is also home to seven nature reserves, several ancient forts, the world famous Hadrian’s Wall, Europe’s largest man made woodland the Kielder Forest, and the 2,680 acre Kielder Water reservoir.

The park, which is served by part of the Pennine Way long distance walking path, is also home to the Cheviot Hills which is where the park’s highest elevation can be found located atop ‘The Cheviot’ at 2,674 foot / 815 meters high. 

The park is also the site of four out of the country’s five ‘purest’ water courses, they are the River Beamish, the Barrow Burn, the Linhope Burn and the Ridlees Burn. 

In 2013 the park was awarded Dark Sky status, resulting in it becoming the largest area of protected night sky in Europe. 

ADDRESS – Eastburn, South Park, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 1BS. 

TELEPHONE - 01434 605555.

WEBSITE -  www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk

KIELDER - www.visitkielder.com

 

  

NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS NATIONAL PARK

The North Yorkshire Moors were designated with national park status in 1952.

As it’s name suggests the park, which covers an area of 554 square miles / 1,436 square kilometers, lies wholly within the English county of North Yorkshire.

The park is noted for it’s striking heather moorlands and deep dales, all of which have been forged by the area's four main water courses the River Esk, River Derwent, River Leven and River Ouse.

The park consists of the North Yorkshire Moors Heritage Path, which is located along the park’s coast, the Cleveland Hills, the Cleveland Way, Lyke Wake and White Rose long distance walking paths, the 18 mile / 29 kilometer long North Yorkshire Moors Heritage Railway, eight wildlife reserves, two visitor centres, the Duncombe Park country house and estate, the ruins of the twelfth century Helmsley Castle, what remains of the twelfth century Byland, Rievaulx and Rosedale, Cistercian abbeys and several picturesque market towns and small villages.

The park’s highest point is located at Round Hill located on Urra Moor which attains an ultimate elevation of 1,490 foot / 454 meters high.  

ADDRESS -  The Old Vicarage, Bondgate, Helmsley, North Yorkshire, YO62 5BP.

TELEPHONE – 01439 772700.

WEBSITE - www.northyorkmoors.org.uk

THE PEAK DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK 

The Peak District became the United Kingdom’s very first national park when it was designated as such in April, 1951.

The park, which is located within the English counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire and small portions of south and west Yorkshire, covers an overall area of 555 square miles / 1,437 square km. 

The park is particularly noted for it’s limestone peaks and gritstone escarpments, the highest of which is Kinder Scout at 2,087 feet / 636 meters high, and it’s vast tracts of ancient moorland, heathland, blanket bogs and lush green valleys, which are more commonly known as dales.

ADDRESS – Aldern House, Baslow Road, Bakewerll, Derbyshire, DE45 1AE.

TELEPHONE – 01629 816 200.

WEBSITE - www.peakdistrict.gov.uk

 

THE SOUTH DOWNS NATIONAL PARK 

The South Downs were designated with national park status in 2010.

The park, which covers an area of 994 square miles / 1,600 square kilometers, is located in the English counties of Hampshire, East Sussex and West Sussex.

The park is particularly noted for it’s chalk landscape which includes the world famous coastal landmarks of  Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters.

Other notable features of the park include the South Downs Way, a 100 mile / 160 kilometer long walking path located entirely within the park located between the park’s coastal limits of Winchester and Eastbourne. 

The park consists of vast tracts of rolling farmland, ancient woodland, heather and pine covered heathland and several picturesque towns and villages. 

The park’s highest point is the 919 foot / 280 meter high, Blackdown, located in West Sussex.    

ADDRESS – North Street, Midhurst, West Sussex, GU29 9DH.

TELEPHONE – 0300 303 1053

WEBSITE - www.southdowns.gov.uk

 

  

THE YORKSHIRE DALES NATIONAL PARK 

The Yorkshire Dales was designated with national park status in 1954.

The park, which covers an area of 683 square miles / 1,769 square kilometers, is located in the English counties of North Yorkshire and Cumbria.

The park consists of thirty eight towns and villages, the most famous of which are the market towns of Skipton, Settle and Richmond and the village of Wenslydale. 

Local landmarks include England’s tallest waterfall, Cautley Spout, with a drop of 574 feet / 175 meters, the 8.6 mile / 14 kilometer long, Gaping Gill cave system, the fourteenth century Bolton Castle, the twenty four arch Ribblehead Viaduct, the hundred meter high Gordale Scar gorge and the park’s highest point, the 2,415 foot / 736 meter high, Whernside, a mountain which is part of the Pennine Mountain Range which goes on to form an area in the park known as the Three Peaks along with the  2,372 foot / 723 meter high Ingleborough and the 2,277 foot / 694 meter high Pen Y Ghent.

The park, which is served by the River Aire, River Lune, River Ribble, River Swale, River Ure and the River Wharfe, also contains the Coast to Coast, Dales Way, Pennine Way and Pennine Bridleway, long distance walking paths, six visitor centres and the Dales Countryside Museum. 

ADDRESS – Leyburn, North Yorkshire, DL8 3EL

TELEPHONE – 0300 456 0030.

WEBSITE -  www.yorkshiredales.org.uk 

The Peak District, Britain's First National Park

The Peak District National Park became the first of it’s type in the United Kingdom when it was designated with national park status in April of 1951.
Access to the great outdoors was once outlawed in Great Britain, with it’s acres and acres of unspoilt beauty seen only by the gentry who used it just for shooting trips.
In 1932 an organised mass trespass of Kinder Scout by the Young Communist League of Manchester highlighted the need for the general masses to be able to access local beauty spots.
This was followed closely by a mass media campaign organised by the British Rambler’s Society which in turn led to the National Parks legislation of 1949 and then the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, an act which has culminated in each and everyone of us being able to visit places of natural beauty all over the country.

Today the park, which is located within the English counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire along with small portions of south and west Yorkshire, covers an overall area of 555 square miles / 1,437 square km.
The interior of the park, which is renowned for it’s thousand foot high limestone peaks, it’s rounded gritstone escarpments, it’s picturesque dales and valleys and acres of moorland, heathland, pastureland and blanket bogs, is also a haven for wildlife, grouse shooting and as pastureland for sheep.
The park’s periphery is surrounded by the area’s former historic mill towns and industrial cities of Buxton, Manchester, Derby, Holmfirth, Kirklees, Leek and Sheffield. Within the environs of the park are several well known villages and market towns such as Ashbourne famous for it’s mineral water, Bakewell renowned for it’s pudding sometimes called a tart, Castleton famous for it’s many caves, Chatsworth renowned for it’s stately home, Glossop famous for it’s picturesque High Street and the popular Victorian, inland resort of Matlock Bath.

The park’s natural beauty consists of 559 miles / 900 kilometers of rivers, mainly in the form of tributaries of the rivers Ouse, Mersey, Trent, Weaver and Wye. These rivers have carved the many beautiful dales and valleys of the area, the most famous of which are the Derwent Valley, Dovedale, Edale, the Manifold Valley and Monsal Dale, which is famous not only for it’s natural beauty but for it’s imposing, fifty arched, three hundred foot long Headstone Railway Viaduct.
Lakes found in the park include the Howden, Derwent and Ladybower reservoirs, all of which are located in the Upper Derwent Valley and all of which are surrounded by large swathes of man made forestry.

The area’s peaks and escarpments, of which the park was named, includes a large portion of the Pennines, the 1,696 foot / 517 meter high, Mam Tor / Mother Hill, the much photographed Derwent Edge and the area’s highest point and inspiration for the whole national parks movement, Kinder Scout, at 2,087 feet / 636 meters high.
Due to the area’s large swathes of limestone the park is also renowned for it’s many underground caverns and caves and man made mines, the most famous of which are Titan, the deepest cave in Britain at 464 foot / 141.5 meters deep which is located near Castleton,  Thor’s Cave located in the Manifold Valley, the Heights of Abraham, which are accessed by way of an exhilarating cable car ride from Matlock Bath, the world famous Blue John Cave and mines and their near neighbours the Speedwell, Poole, Treak Cliff and Peak Caverns, all of which are located in the Hope Valley.
The area’s moorlands include Axe Edge Moor famous for being the site of England’s highest village, Flash in Staffordshire which is located at 1,519 ft / 463 meters above sea level, the aptly named Bleaklow Moor, the Eastern Moors which are noted for their excellent RSPB reserve, the vast moorland plateau of Saddleworth Moor which has gained notoriety due to it's 1960s child murders and the bleak expanse of Stanton Moor, famous for it’s ancient standing stones and megaliths.

As a whole the area is easily accessed by way of several walking paths and bridleways, in fact the country’s very first national walking trail the 268 mile / 431 km long Pennine Way, which was designated in 1965, starts on the park’s northern periphery at Edale.
The park is also renowned for it’s very high but breathtakingly scenic, high peak B roads, which include the 1,680 feet / 510 meter high Snake Pass located between Glossop and Bleaklow, the bleak and rugged terrain which accompanies the Woodhead Pass located between Glossop and Holmfirth, the 1,690 foot / 520 meter high Cat and Fiddle Pass located between Macclesfield and Buxton and the very picturesque environs that surround Winnats Pass, located just outside Castleton in Derbyshire.


ADDRESS – Aldern House, Baslow Road, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1AE.
TELEPHONE – 01629 816 200.
WEBSITE - www.peakdistrict.gov.uk

The National Parks Of Scotland

Scotland and it’s seven hundred plus islands cover an overall area of 78,722 square kilometers. The country sports a dramatic 11,803 kilometer long coastline and has a picturesque, ninety six kilometer border with England. 

Despite it’s size and rugged natural beauty Scotland is home to only two national parks, both of which are described below;  

  

LOCH LOMOND & THE TROSSACHS NATIONAL PARK

PAIRC NAISEANTA LOCH LAOMAINN IS NAN TROISICHEAN 

The Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park is located in the Scottish council areas of Argyll & Bute, Perth & Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire and covers an overall area of 1,865 square kilometers / 720 square miles and was established in 2002 .
As it's name suggests the park includes Scotland’s largest lake or loch, Loch Lomond / Loch Laomainn, which covers an area of 71 square kilometers and the Trossachs, a heavily wooded area of glens and lochs containing some thirty three villages and towns which between them are home to several ancient castles, ancient monuments and whiskey distilleries.
The national park as a whole is home to the United Kingdom’s highest mountain Ben Nevis / Beinn Nibheis which stands at 1,344 meters high and is located in the Grampian Mountain range. The area around the Grampians also contain another twenty one munros of over three thousand feet and nineteen corbetts.  

The park is further served by two forest parks, twenty two large lochs, fifty rivers, fifty seven natural conservation sites, twenty one visitor centres, six cycle paths, four golf courses and thirty towns and villages.

Overall the park is a haven for nature lovers, hikers, cyclists, hill walkers, lovers of water sports, mountain climbers and Winter sports enthusiasts.

 

ADDRESS – Carrochan Road, Carrochan, Balloch, G83 8EG

TELEPHONE – 01389 722600

WEBSITE - www.lochlomond-trossachs.org 

  

THE CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK

PAIRC NAISEANTA A MHONAIDH RUAIDH 

The Cairngorms National Park, which was established in 2003, covers an overall area of 4,528 square kilometers / 1,748 square miles, making it the largest national park in the whole of the United Kingdom.
The Cairngorms are a mountain range located between the Highland towns of Aviemore and Braemar, which were named after the massif's highest peak, Cairn Gorm.

The national park, which is located in the Scottish council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Highlands, Moray and Perth & Kinross also includes the Highlands Wildlife Park, the Glenmore Forest National Nature Reserve, the Abernethy Forest RSPB reserve, the ancient Caledonian Forest, the Rothiemurchus Estate, the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre, Loch Morlich and it’s award winning beach and forty three monros, the tallest of which is Ben Macdhui at 1,309 meters high.

The park is sparsely populated with only eleven small towns and villages located within it’s environs. Because of this the park is a haven for wildlife, so much so that a quarter of the country’s most endangered species have been given a home in the park.

The park, which is also classified as the coldest and snowiest region of the United Kingdom, is home to three Winter ski centres, making the park the United Kingdom’s premier ski-ing location.

When the Winter snows melt the park is drained by the rivers Avon, Dee, Don, Feshie and Spey, all of which are considered to be excellent salmon fishing waters.

Overall the park is ideal for nature lovers, hill walkers, mountain climbers, pony trekkers, anglers, sailers, canoists, bird watchers and winter sports enthusiasts.

The park is served by nine visitor centres and for the less agile the park also provides a scenic mountain railway.   

ADDRESS – 14 The Square, Grantown on Spey, PH26 3HG.

TELEPHONE – 0901 226 0511.

WEBSITE - http://cairngorms.co.uk

MOUNTAIN RAILWAY - www.cairngormmountain.org

HIGHLAND WILDLIFE PARK - www.highlandwildlifepark.org.uk 

The National Parks Of Wales

The Principality of Wales covers an overall area of 20,779 square kilometers, sports a dramatic 1,207 kilometer coastline and has a picturesque 257 kilometer long border with England.

The country’s interior is home to several steep sided mountains and miles of lush, green valleys and it's coastline boasts miles of pristine sandy beaches and rocky coves.

Due to it’s diverse beauty Wales has been graced with three National Parks / Parc Cenedlaethol, all of which are described below.  

  

THE BRECON BEACONS NATIONAL PARK

PARC CENEDLAETHOL BANNAN BRYCHEINIOG 

The Brecon Beacons are a range of sandstone peaks situated in the south east of the country which were designated as a national park in 1957.

The park, which covers an overall area of 1,344 square kilometers, is located in the Welsh county of Powys and is bordered to it’s west by the Black Mountain / Y Mynydd Du and to it’s east by the Black Mountains / Y Mynddoedd Duon.  
The park also encompasses the Fforest Fawr Geopark and thirty two towns and villages. 

The park as a whole is made up of grassy moorland, lush green valleys and thick areas of forestry, all of which are interspersed with caves, lakes and waterfalls and grazing Welsh mountain ponies.

The park’s highest peak is Pen Y Fan at 886 meters high. 

In all the area is a haven for hikers, bikers and nature lovers and for those who do not wish to climb the park’s many peaks the area is served by a scenic mountain railway.

 

POST CODE -  SA9 1GL.

TELEPHONE - 01639 730 395.

WEBSITE - www.breconbeacons.org

MOUNTAIN RAILWAY - www.breconmountainrailway.co.uk

  

THE PEMBROKESHIRE COAST NATIONAL PARK

PARC CENEDLAETHIOL ARFORDIR PENFRO 

The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is the United Kingdom’s only coastal park and was designated as such in 1952.

The park covers the entire 299 kilometer coastline of the south Wales county of Pembrokeshire, which in all covers an area of 629 square kilometers. 

The area is encompassed by rugged cliffs, sandy beaches and wooded estuaries which between them are home to forty beaches and eleven seaside towns and villages.

The park includes seven special areas of conservation, six national nature reserves, seventy five sites of special scientific interest and a marine reserve.

The area as a whole is a haven for nature lovers and is easily accessible by way of it's many miles of coastal walking paths.

POST CODE - SA72 6DY.

TELEPHONE - 0845 345 7522.

WEBSITE - www.pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk

 

SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK

PARC CENEDLAETHIOL EYRI 

The Snowdonia National Park is situated in North Wales and was designated with national park status in 1951.

The park, which gives it's name to Wales'  highest mountain, Mount Snowdon, which stands at 1,085 meters high, is located in the Welsh counties of Conwy and Gwynedd and covers an area of  2,170 square kilometers. The park also has a sixty kilometers coastline and is the largest of Wales’ three national parks.  

The park, which has also been designated as a special area of conservation due to it's unique flora and fauna, is located in the wettest part of the United Kingdom and consists of several other massifs and high peaks. .

The rugged, wild landscape of this park is also interspersed with several lakes, waterfalls and valleys and thirteen towns and villages, all of which can be accessed by way of it’s 2,380 kilometers of walking paths.

In all the area is a haven for hikers, bikers and climbers and for those who are less agile the area is served by a scenic mountain railway.  
Located at the summit of Snowdonia is a mountain railway station and a visitor centre which is housed in a very unique building.   

POST CODE - LL48 6LF.

TELEPHONE - 01766 770 274.

WEBSITE -  www.eryri-npa.gov.uk

MOUNTAIN RAILWAY - www.snowdonrailway.co.uk 

London's Ten Tallest Structures

  

Found below are the ten tallest structures situated in the United Kingdom’s capital city London. 

1) 32, LONDON BRIDGE / THE SHARD

Although better known as the Shard, London’s tallest building is officially known as 32, London Bridge.

The Shard, which was completed in May of 2012, is not only London’s tallest building but the tallest building in the United Kingdom and the tallest building in Europe.

The building has ninety five floors and stands 998 feet / 309 meters high, but is actually 1,012 feet high if you take in it's fourteen foot high antenna.

Although most of us think the shard looks like a shard of glass, the building's designers Italian architect Renzo Piano and British architect Richard Rogers, actually liken their structure to an iceberg..

Construction took just three years and was financed by a group of Qatari investors.

2) ONE, CANADA SQUARE / CANARY WHARF TOWER

Situated in Canary Wharf in London's Docklands the fifty floors of this 771 foot / 235 meter high tower were both London and the United Kingdom's tallest building from the time of it's completion in 1991 until it was surpassed by the the Shard in 2010. 

The tower was designed by Argentine architect Cesar Pelli and was took just three years to construct between 1988 until 1991.

The building is owned by the London based Canary Wharf Group plc, which gives the tower it’s nickname despite the facts that there are several other high rise towers situated in Canary Wharf, and houses both offices and retail businesses. 

The building is easy to spot within the London skyline owing to it’s unusual pyramid shaped pinnacle.

3) 110, BISHOPSGATE / THE HERON TOWER

Situated in the financial district of the City of London and named after it's owners the United Kingdom property developers Heron International, the forty six floors of this 756 foot / 230 meter high tower were designed by the New York City group of architects Kohn Pederson Fox. 

Construction began on the building in 2007 and it became the tallest structure in the City of London upon it's completion in 2011. 

The building is used solely as a commercial venture.

4) 122, LEADENHALL STREET / THE CHEESEGRATER 

Situated at 122, Leadenhall Street in the City of London, this 748 foot / 225 meter high office block became London’s fourth highest building upon it’s completion in 2014.

The building, which gets it’s nickname from it’s resemblence to a popular kitchen utensil, was designed by British archtects Rojers Stirk Harbour & Partners.

The building, which is the second tallest in the City of London, houses forty eight storeys of prime office space. 

5) CRYSTAL PALACE TRANSMITTER

This free standing transmitter is a broadcasting and telecommunications tower situated in the South London Borough of Bromley. 

At 720 feet / 219 meters high, this steele truss tower, which bares a slight resemblance to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, was completed in 1956 and was London's tallest structure for over thirty years until the completion of One Canada Square in 1991.  

6) EIGHT, CANADA SQUARE / HSBC TOWER

Yet another Docklands structure is the 655 foot / 200 meter high tower, also known as the HSBC Tower after the banking company which owns it, situated on Canada Square in Canary Wharf.

This forty two storey building was designed by British architects, Sir Norman Foster & Partners, and was constructed between 1997 and 2002.

The building houses the offices of the global headquarters of the banking group HSBC. 

6) TWENTY FIVE, CANADA SQUARE / CITIGROUP CENTRE

Also known as the Citigroup Centre this iconic Canary Wharf  tower has forty two floors and stands 655 feet / 200 meters high. 

Designed by British architects Sir Norman Foster & Partners the tower took four years to construct between 1998 and 2002.

The building has become an iconic London landmark owing to the logo of it's owners, banking group CitiBank, which is situated at the top of the building. The logo can be seen for miles around, especially at night when it’s bright red neon lights are switched on.

The building is renowned for being joint fifth, along with Tower 42, in London’s line up of tallest buildings.  

8) TOWER 42 / NATWEST TOWER

Also known as the NatWest Tower after the British banking company which own it, this forty seven storey tower stands 600 foot / 183 meters high and comes in as joint fifth, along with 25 Canada Square, in London’s line up of tallest buildings. 

The tower was designed by Swiss born architect Richard Seifert and was nine years in it’s construction between 1971 and1980. 

The building of the tower saw much controversy when it was originally designed in the early 1960’s owing to the planned demolition of a nineteenth century bank which stood on the site of the new build. 

Upon it’s completion the building became the first modern skyscraper in the ancient City of London and remained the city’s tallest building for thirty years until the completion of the Heron Tower in 2011. 

 9) ST GEORGE WHARF TOWER / VAUXHALL TOWER

This fifty storey, residentail tower located along London’s Nine Elm’s Lane in Vauxhall stands 594 feet / 181 meters high.

The building is unique for having a catherine wheel shaped floor design, for having a wind turbine located at it’s pinnacle and for housing London’s highest swimming pool.

The building, which contains 233 apartments, was designed by British architects Broadway Malyan and was completed in 2015. 

The building became headline news in January of 2013 after a helicopter crashed into it’s construction crane, killing the helicopter pilot and one person on the ground.  

10) 30, ST MARY AXE / THE GHERKIN

Also known as the Gherkin owing to it's unusual shape, the forty storeys of this 590 foot / 180 meter high building, shown above, is situated in the financial district of the City of London and was designed by British architects Sir Norman Foster & Partners. 

Construction began in 2001 and it was only two and a half years in the building before it was opened in May of 2004. 

The building is owned by Swiss insurance company, Swiss Re, and was built in order to replace the ruin of the former Baltic Exchange building, which had been destroyed by an IRA bomb in April of 1992.   

London's Oldest Buildings

Check Out Our List Of London’s Oldest Buildings. 

  

OLDEST BOTANIC GARDEN

Founded in 1673 in order to grow much needed medicinal herbs and plants the Chelsea Physic Garden, which is situated in the grounds of the Chelsea Royal Hospital, is London’s oldest, public, botanic garden. 

OLDEST BREWERY

London’s oldest brewery is the Fullers Brewery located in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow. The brewery has traded from this same site for over three hundred years but has only been known as Fuller’s since 1845. Before then it was known as the Griffin Brewery and was located in part of what was once London’s Duke of Bedford Estate. 

The façade of the brewery is festooned with what is reputed to be the oldest Wisteria palnt in the country, which was planted there in the early 1800s. 

OLDEST BRICK BUILT HOUSE

London’s oldest houses are a row of three, brick built, terrace houses situated in Newington Green in North London. The houses, which are Grade I Listed, were built in 1658 and are not only London’s oldest complete, brick built row of houses but the oldest row of brick built houses in the country. 

OLDEST CATHEDRAL

London's oldest cathedral is Southwark Cathedral located in Bankside in south London.The cathedral is a beautiful Gothic building which was built between 1220 and 1420, which is reputed to be London's oldest fully intact Gothic structure.  

OLDEST CHURCH

London’s oldest church is All Hallows by the Tower situated in the City of London, which was founded in 675, although little remains of the original building other than a small Saxon archway.

There remains considerably more of the City of London's Temple Church however, which was built between 1160 and 1185 for the Knights Templars.This beautiful medieval church still remains fully intact and is still a fully functioning Church Of England house of worship.

Located in Ely Place in the City of London is the site of the thirteenth century, St Ethelreda's Church, which was built around 1250 and is supposedly the oldest Catholic church not just in London but in the whole country.  

OLDEST FACTORY

London’s oldest manufacturing company is the now Grade II Listed, Whitechapel Foundry, located in Tower Hamlets. The factory is world famous for it’s bell foundry, where there has been a continuously operating foundry there since 1570. 

  

OLDEST FIVE STAR HOTEL

London’s oldest five star hotel is Brown’s Hotel situated on Albemarle Street in the City of Westminster. This high end, luxury hotel was founded by James and Sarah Brown in 1837 exclusively for the use of the rich and famous. 

  

        

OLDEST HOSPITAL

London’s oldest hospital is Saint Bartholomew’s located in the Smithfield area of the City of London. The hospital, which became known as St Barts upon the foundation of the National Health Service in 1948, has been situated here since 1123 when Rahere, a former courtier of King Henry I, opened the Priory of Saint Bartholomew there, making the hospital the only one in London to remain on it’s original site.

After the abolition of the monasteries the priory was bequeathed to the City of London as a poor house and place for the sick by the then king, Henry VIII, an act which is recognised by way of the only statue of him in the whole of London, which is positioned above the main door of the hospital. 

The hospital is also the site of London’s first ever medical college, which was founded at St Bartholomew’s in 1785.  

OLDEST MUSEUM 

London’s oldest museum is the Royal Armouries Museum which is located at the Tower of London. The museum houses London’s oldest collection of wartime memorabilia and dates back to 1414. 

OLDEST PALACE

London has several royal palaces, but many of the more well known ones are quite modern, having been built during the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries.

That leaves the oldest surviving royal ‘house’ still in existence that of Eltham Palace, located in the south, east of London. The palace, which actually began life as a manor house set in many acres of parkland, was built by King Edward II in 1305 as an out of town retreat for his new wife Isabella of France. 

 

OLDEST PUBLIC HOUSE

London’s oldest pub is reputed to be the Spaniards Inn located on Spaniard’s Road in the London Borough of Barnet.

The original building was constructed as a tollgate inn around 1585 and it is believed that the inn became a regular haunt of highwaymen who would use the inn as a lookout to watch the road for impending custom. 

OLDEST PUBLIC LIBRARY

London’s oldest public reference library is situated in London’s Guildhall in the City of London. The library was founded in 1425 from the terms of a will laid down by the city’s first Lord Mayor, Dick Whittington. The library houses thousands of books, manuscripts, pictures and drawings all of which specialise on City of London topics.  

    

OLDEST RETAILERS

London’s oldest department store is Harrods situated along the Brompton Road in Knightsbridge.

The store was founded by draper Charles Harrod in 1898 and was the first shopping emporium of it’s kind in the world. The store was also the first place in the world to have public escalators fitted and the first store in the world to introduce display stands.

London’s oldest grocery shop is Fortnum and Mason situated in Picadilly. The shop was founded by local grocers William Fortnum and Hugh Mason in 1707.

London’s first shopping arcade was the Burlington Arcade situated near Picadilly Circus.The arcade was built in 1819 by Lord George Cavendish, brother of the then Earl of Burlington, so that his wife and her friends could shop in a clean and safe environment, instead of on London’s dirty and often dangerous streets.The arcade has gone on to be the forerunner of the massive shopping arcades and malls that we use today.

London’s oldest bookshop is Hatchard’s also located in Picadilly.This quaint, olde booke shoppe was established back in 1797 by book publisher and seller, John Hatchard, although his shop is now owned and managed by book retailer Waterstone’s. 

Most of London’s markets go back to medieval times but Smithfield Market in The City of London is reputed to be the oldest of them, having been there for around eight hundred years. Other ancient market sites include Spitalfield’s Market in Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets Market founded in 1638 and the fruit and vegetable market at Borough Market in Southwark which is around two hundred and fifty years old, although the site has been a place of trading since 1014. 

OLDEST STATUE

London’s oldest statue is the Christopher Wren Monument located in the City of London. The two hundred foot high ediface with it’s fluted doric columns was built between 1671 and 1677 from Portland stone and was built in order to commemorate the Great Fire of London. 

  

OLDEST STRUCTURE

The oldest form of any type of structure found in London are three prehistoric timbers found near Vauxhall Bridge, which spans the River Thames between Vauxhall in south London and Millbank in the City of Westminster. Carbon dating performed on the timbers have revealed that these timbers are around six thousand years old.

Vauxhall Bridge is also the site of some 3,500 year old wooden remains of what historians believe were once a bridge. As with the timbers above, the wooden remains can only be seen at low tide. 

However something which does not need to wait for the tide to be exposed are the City of London's, City Walls, which were built between the second and third centuries. Some of the original walls still remain intact at locations at Tower Hill, the Barbican Estate, Coopers Row and St Alphage Gardens.  

  

OLDEST TRAIN STATIONS

London’s first mainline train station was London Bridge Station situated on Tooley Street in Lambeth, which was opened to the public in December 1836.

London’s oldest underground station is Baker Street in the West End, which was built in 1863. Not only is this London’s oldest metro station, but as London’s Tube is the oldest metro system in the world, the station is also the oldest metro station in the world.

The oldest section of the London Underground system (The Tube) is situated between Paddington Station and Farringdon Street Station located on the Hammersmith and City Line, making it the oldest section of metro line in the world. 

    

OLDEST UNIVERSITY

London’s oldest university is University College which is situated in Bloomsbury in central London. The college was founded in 1826 by Scots James Mill and Henry Broughton as a secular alternative to the more famous, religious universities already founded in and around the cities of Oxford and Cambridge.