Where are the National Parks in the UK, will England get more after Brexit and how are they protected?

A NEW crop of national parks could be created post-Brexit after the Envirnoment Secretary announced plans to expand the nation’s green land.

Michael Gove has ordered a review of all protected areas – and here’s what we know about these “gems”.

Where are the national parks in the UK?

There are currently 15 national parks and 34 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England, ranging from the Lake District to the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands. They are:

• Brecon Beacons: The Brecon Beacons National Park was established in 1957. It stretches fronm  Llandeilo in the west to Hay-on-Wye in the northeast and Pontypool in the southeast, covering 519 square miles. The highest summit in the park and in South Wales is at Pen y Fan at 886 metres.
• Broads: Straddling Norfolk and Suffolk, this is Britain’s biggest protected wetland, which was formed by the flooding of old peat diggings. It is home to so me of Britain’s rarest wildlife.
• Cairngorms: This is Britain’s largest national park and was set up in north east Scotland by the Scottish Parliament. The Park covers parts of Aberdeenshire, Moray, Highland, Angus and Perth and Kinross. Nearly half of the land in the National Park is considered “wild land”.
• Dartmoor: A vast moorland in Devon, where Dartmoor ponies roam the craggy landscape. The area incorporates villages, including Princetown, home to Dartmoor Prison used during the Napoleonic Wars.
• Exmoor: hilly moorland in west Somerset and north Devon. It is named after the River Exe.
• Lake District: Mountainous region in North West England, it includes 26   miles of coastline and estuaries. It became a UNESCO world heritage site in 2017.
• Loch Lomond and the Trossachs: Centred on Loch Lomond and established in 2002, the park includes several ranges of hills and the Trossachs.
• New Forest: Home to rare plants and wildlife, including the Wild Gladiolus, Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, nursing heroine Florence Nightingale and Alice Hargreaves, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, are all buried here.
• Northumberland: Covering an area of more than 1,030 square kilometres (400 sq miles), the park is situated between the Scottish border in the north to just south of Hadrian’s Wall. It is one of the least populated and least visited of the National Parks.
• North York Moors: With a population of 23,380, the park contains one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the UK.
• Peak District: Founded in 1951, The Peak District is one of Britain’s 15 national parks.
• Pemrokeshire Coast: Based in west Wales, this is the only national park in the UK to have been designated specifically for its stunning coastline.
• Snowdonia: A 23 square mile park located in Wales. Unlike many national parks, this is a living and working area, with more than 26,000 permanent residents.
• South Downs: This is the newest of Britain’s national parks, its most notable feature being the chalk hills that span Winchester, Sussex and East Sussex and ending where it meets the English Channel, where Beachy Head is also located.
• Yorkshire Dales: This park encompasses thousands of square miles of moors, valleys, hills and villages. Southeast, on the River Wharfe, the Bolton Abbey Estate includes the ruins of a 12th-century monastery.

Will England get more national parks after Brexit?

According to Michael Gove, the “time is right” for a review of the UK’s protected land – almost 70 years on from the creation of the first national areas.

It will consider whether to expand England’s network of parks as well as areas of outstanding natural beauty.

According to Gove, the UK’s population growth, combined with changes in technology and a decline in some habitats, meant it was time to “look afresh at these landscapes”.

Writing in the, he said: “The creation of national parks almost 70 years ago changed the way we view our precious landscapes – helping us all access and enjoy our natural world.

“We want to make sure they are not only conserved, but enhanced for the next generation.

“Are we properly supporting all those who live in, work in, or want to visit these magnificent places? Should we indeed be extending our areas of designated land?”

Former government aide and journalist Julian Glover has been appointed to carry out the review.

Gove added: “I want Julian explicitly to consider how we can extend and improve the protection we give to other precious landscapes.”

How are national parks protected?

In the UK, protected areas are part of a worldwide network of more than 100,000 protected areas.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) helps look after these areas globally.

The IUCN describes these areas as: “A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values”.

A protected area is a location that has a clear boundary.

It has and laws to ensure nature and wildlife are protected and that people can enjoy nature without destroying it. They are:

• Natural Resources Wales
• Natural England
• Scottish Natural Heritage    

There are three types of nationally protected areas in the UK: National Parks – in England, Scotland and Wales; Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Scenic Areas – in Scotland.