Celebrating Britain’s National Parks: National Park Week

From the Norfolk Broads to the Lake District, the Cairngorms, Snowdonia and the Peak District, Britain’s national parks are home to some of our most spectacular scenery. In celebration of National Parks Week (24-30 July), here are some of our favourites…

To many, the Lake District is the jewel in the crown of Britain’s National Parks. It is the largest national park in England and fact lovers may be interested to know there is only officially one lake here: Bassenthwaite Lake. All the other waterways in the Lake District are confusingly known as meres or waters.

Watch aerial footage of Ullswater in the Lake District

Ullswater – Cumbria from Aerial Republic on Vimeo.

Britain’s national parks number 15 and each of them holds its own allure. Visit the lush green valleys of Wales’ Brecon Beacons or be dazzled by the huge lochs and munros of Scotland’s Loch Lomond & The Trossachs.

The Norfolk Broads is the largest protected wetland in Britain, with a quarter of the rarest species across its myriad waterways. Dartmoor, in South Devon, meanwhile, boasts a brooding rugged beauty.

Famed for its stunning purple heather moorland, the North York Moors is a stunning space with a great coastline to match.

The largest of Britain’s national parks is the Cairngorms, which covers 4,500 square kilometres. The Cairngorms is home to five of our six highest mountains, as well as prehistoric, Celtic and Pictish ruins.