United Kingdom national parks

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.

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

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.