National Parks in the United Kingdom

National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty were established for England and Wales under legislation in 1948. Scotland created its first national parks more recently in 2000. As these are usually major tourist destinations in their own right, and affect planning laws, these are useful boundaries to have mapped.

Boundaries are probably difficult to identify precisely, and therefore initial mapping is likely to include/exclude areas. Some national parks have obvious signs along road (for instance the millstones used by the Peak District), but in most cases the boundaries will need iterative refinement. When boundaries are not known precisely it is useful to document how the mapped boundaries are derived, as done for the Cotswolds.

National Parks (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland)

There are 13 National Parks in England and Wales, set up under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, and 2 National Parks in Scotland, set up under the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000. There are currently no National Parks in Northern Ireland.