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
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