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| A walk in the park |
| North of England |
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Rich in natural and
cultural treasures, the
North Yorkshire Moors
are a place of national
and international
importance.
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The north of England is the area most richly served by national
parks; it is home to the Northumberland National Park, North
York Moors, the Yorkshire Dales, the Peak District. |
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| Northumberland National Park acts as a border; to the north,
England meets Scotland, and to the south is the World Heritage
Site of Hadrian's Wall. Between these boundaries lies the
historic landscape of the Park. Hadrian's Wall was built early in
the second century AD and marked the northern limit of the
Roman Empire that stretched all the way to Africa and the
Middle East.The ruins of castles throughout the Breamish Valley
point to a lively and changeable past. Running the length of
the Park is the Pennine Way, the UK's longest national trail at
431 kilometres (268 miles). |
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| Covering 1,408 square kilometres (880 square miles), the Lake
District (or the Lakes as it is known) is the largest UK national
park. The central areas of the Lakes are wild and rugged; from
here, 16 lakes radiate out like bicycle spokes. The Lakes have
rich literary and artistic associations. William Wordsworth,
Samuel Coleridge and John Ruskin all wrote about the Lakes,
and Wordsworth has been credited with originating the concept
of national parks. He referred to the Lake District as a 'sort of
national property in which every man has a right and interest
who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy'. The Lakes are
the most popular UK national park.
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| The North York Moors are the most extensive tract of
unenclosed heather moorland in England. They are a patchwork
of upland heath, blanket bog and mire, dissected by grassy dales
and hedges. There are also woodlands and beaches. The park is
rich with the signs of past generations; historic abbeys, castles
and churches are prevalent throughout. The Jurassic geology is
also impressive and the area is famous for its fossil remains.
Ammonites, sea dragons and dinosaur footprints all point to a
time when North Yorkshire looked very different.
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| The Yorkshire Dales have been described as wild, expansive,
awesome and bleak. Formed largely by glacial action, the Dales
occupy the finest area of upland limestone country in Britain.
The limestone cliffs and pavements, gorges and valley-side
screes that dominate the uplands contrast with the waterfalls,
heather-covered fells, hay meadows and abundance of dry-stone
walls and stone villages that dominate the lower landscapes.
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| One third of the UK population lives within an hour of the Peak
District National Park and each year, more than 22 million day
visits are made to this unique landscape. The White Peak in the
centre has deep limestone dales and undulating fields. To the
north, east and west is the dramatic Dark Peak, dominated by
peat moorlands and desolate blanket bogs, one of the world's
rarest habitats. Stone circles, burial mounds, hill forts, Roman
remains, Saxon churches, medieval castles and evidence from
the industrial revolution can all be found in abundance, giving
an intriguing insight into the development of the landscape.
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