Internet Geography

What are National Parks?
National Parks are protected areas of outstanding natural beauty. The first National Park was Yellowstone National Park, USA. Yellowstone was set up in 1872.

The National Parks of England and Wales
National Parks of England and Wales defined by an Act of Parliament (1949) as:

'areas of great natural beauty giving opportunity for open air recreation, established so that natural beauty can be preserved and enhanced, and so that the enjoyment of the scenery by the public can be promoted'

There are 13 National Parks in England and Wales. These are:

Key	National Park	Established	km²	sq mi	Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_parks_of_England_and_Wales
1	Peak District	1951	1,438	555
2	Lake District	1951	2,292	885
3	Snowdonia	1951	2,142	827
4	Dartmoor	1951	956	369
5	Pembrokeshire Coast	1952	620	240
6	North York Moors	1952	1,436	554
7	Yorkshire Dales	1954	1,769	683
8	Exmoor	1954	693	268
9	Northumberland	1956	1,049	405
10	Brecon Beacons	1957	1,351	522
11	The Broads	1988	303	117
12	New Forest	2005	580	220
13	South Downs	2010	1,641	634
	Established total		14,629	5,648

Most National Parks are located in upland areas of northern England and Wales.

Tourist Honeypots
Honeypots are areas which attract many tourists. They usually contain attractive scenery or historic/culturally significant buildings. These areas are so called because tourists flock to these places like 'bees around honey'.

Problems in National Parks
Tourism causes many problems in National Parks. These include -

Litter
Traffic congestion
Footpath erosion resulting from overuse
Conflict with other landusers e.g. farmers

Castleton A tourist honey pot in The Peak District
Castleton is a village located in the Peak District National Park. Full details about it's attractions, problems and management solutions can be found on the Peak District Web Site or here on Internet Geography.