United Kingdom national parks

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.

Lesser designations also exist: the National Landscapes of England and Wales, the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty of Northern Ireland, and the National Scenic Areas of Scotland.

Understand

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 land access is usually subject to the same restrictions as elsewhere in the country, but access facilities (gates and signs etc) are often better inside the park.

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.

National parks

The United Kingdom has 15 national parks; of these, 10 are in England, 3 in Wales, and 2 in Scotland:

Name Photo Country
Brecon Beacons Wales
Norfolk Broads England
Cairngorms Scotland
Dartmoor England
Exmoor England
Lake District England
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs Scotland
New Forest England
Northumberland England
North York Moors England
Peak District England
Pembrokeshire Coast Wales
Snowdonia Wales
South Downs England
Yorkshire Dales England

    National Landscapes and National Scenic Areas

    National Landscapes are 41 government-defined areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Until 2024, all National Landscapes were known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), but this name is now only used in Northern Ireland.

    The equivalent in Scotland is the National Scenic Area (NSA), designated on behalf of the Scottish Government. There are 40 designated NSAs.

    Name Photo Country
    Anglesey Wales
    Antrim Coast Northern Ireland
    Antrim Glens Northern Ireland
    Ardnamurchan Scotland
    Arnside and Silverdale England
    Assynt - Coigach Scotland
    Ben Nevis Scotland
    Binevenagh Northern Ireland
    Blackdown Hills England
    Cannock Chase England
    Causeway Coast Northern Ireland
    Chichester Harbour England
    Chilterns England
    Clwydian Range Wales
    Cornwall England
    Cotswolds England
    Cranborne Chase England
    Cuillin Hills Scotland
    Dedham Vale England
    Deeside Scotland
    Dee Valley Wales
    Dornoch Firth Scotland
    Dorset England
    East Devon England
    East Stewartry Coast Scotland
    Eildon and Leaderfoot Scotland
    Fleet Valley Scotland
    Forest of Bowland England
    Garvellachs Scotland
    Glen Affric Scotland
    Glen Lyon Scotland
    Glen Strathfarrar Scotland
    Glencoe Scotland
    Gower Wales
    Harris Scotland
    High Weald England
    Howardian Hills (see Ashdown Forest) England
    Hoy and West Mainland Scotland
    Isle of Wight England
    Isle of Mull Scotland
    Isles of Scilly England
    Jura Scotland
    Kent Downs England
    Kintail Scotland
    Knapdale Scotland
    Knoydart Scotland
    Kyle of Tongue Scotland
    Kyles of Bute Scotland
    Lagan Valley Northern Ireland
    Lecale Coast England
    Lincolnshire Wolds England
    Lleyn Wales
    Loch na Keal next Mull Scotland
    Loch Rannoch Scotland
    Loch Shiel Scotland
    Loch Tummel Scotland
    Lochnagar Scotland
    Lunga, Treshnish Isles Scotland
    Lynn of Lorn Scotland
    Malvern Hills England
    Mendip Hills England
    Moidart Scotland
    Morar Scotland
    Mourne Northern Ireland
    Nidderdale England
    Nith Estuary Scotland
    North Arran Scotland
    North Devon (see Devon) England
    North Norfolk Coast England
    North Pennines England
    North Uist Scotland
    North Wessex Downs England
    Northumberland Coast England
    Northwest Sutherland Scotland
    Quantock Hills England
    Ring of Gullion Northern Ireland
    River Earn Scotland
    River Tay Scotland
    Scarba Scotland
    Shetland Scotland
    Shropshire Hills England
    Small Isles Scotland
    Solway Coast, Cumbria England
    South Devon (see Devon) England
    South Lewis Scotland
    South Uist Machair Scotland
    Sperrin Northern Ireland
    St Kilda Scotland
    Strangford Lough, County Down Northern Ireland
    Suffolk Coast England
    Suffolk Heaths England
    Surrey Hills England
    Tamar Valley England
    Trotternish Scotland
    Upper Tweeddale in Scottish Borders Scotland
    West Wiltshire Downs England
    Wester Ross Scotland
    Wye Valley Wales/England
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