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