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The '''National Parks''' [http://www.anpa.gov.uk/] (Welsh: ''Parciau Cenedlaethol'') of the United Kingdom are to be found primarily in England and Wales; two recent additions exist in Scotland. There are as yet no National Parks in Northern Ireland.
Slightly less strict designations also exist, the '''Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty''' in England and Wales, and the '''National Scenic Area''' in Scotland.
Understand
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 so land access is usually subject to the same restrictions as elsewhere in the country.
National Parks
The majority of England's National Parks are to be found in the North, reflecting the fact that most wilderness areas are to be found in the mountainous areas of the Pennines and surrounding areas.
The Broads
Dartmoor
Exmoor
Lake District National Park
New Forest - England's newest National Park, designated on 1 March 2005
Northumberland
Peak District
Yorkshire Dales
Yorkshire Moors
NB: The South Downs has been designated as an area awaiting designation as a future National Park.
Brecon Beacons (Welsh: ''Bannau Brycheiniog'')
Pembrokeshire Coast (Welsh: ''Arfordir Penfro'')
Snowdonia (Welsh: ''Eryri'')
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs
the Cairngorms
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
'''Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty''' in the United Kingdom are currently 41 defined areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, designated originally by the Countryside Agency, on behalf of the government. The equivalent in Scotland is the National Scenic Area. Natural England[http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/] was set up in 2006 to succeed the Countryside Agency in England, and is a government body responsible for the protection and improvement of the natural environment in England.
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! colspan=2 | England
Arnside and Silverdale
Blackdown Hills
Cannock Chase
Chichester Harbour
Chilterns
Cornwall
Cotswolds
Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs
Dedham Vale
Dorset
East Devon
East Hampshire
Forest of Bowland
High Weald of which Ashdown Forest is part of
Howardian Hills
Isle of Wight
Isles of Scilly
Kent Downs
Lincolnshire Wolds
Malvern Hills
Mendip Hills
Nidderdale
Norfolk Coast
North Devon
North Pennines
Northumberland Coast
North Wessex Downs
Quantock Hills
Shropshire Hills
Solway Coast
South Devon
South Hampshire Coast
Suffolk Coast and Heaths
Surrey Hills
South Downs
Tamar Valley
Wye Valley
! colspan=2 | Wales
Anglesey
Clwydian Range
Gower
Lleyn
Wye Valley
! colspan=2 | Northern Ireland
Antrim Coast and Glens
Causeway Coast
Lagan Valley
Lecale Coast
Mourne
Binevenagh
Ring of Gullion
Sperrin
Strangford Lough
National Scenic Areas
'''National Scenic Area''' (NSA)[http://www.snh.org.uk/scripts-snh/ab-pa03.asp] is a national landscape designation applied in Scotland. Currently there are 40 designated NSA's. They are considered of national importance based on their outstanding scenic landscapes. National Scenic area is equivalent to the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designation which is used in the other countries of the UK. Since 2003, the superior National Park designation has been introduced. There are currently 2 National Parks in Scotland.
Aberdeenshire
Deeside and Lochnagar
Argyll and Bute
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Jura
Knapdale
Kyles of Bute
Loch Lomond - now part of a National Park along with The Trossachs.
Loch na Keal, Isle of Mull
Lynn of Lorn
Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs
Dumfries and Galloway
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East Stewartry Coast
Fleet Valley
Nith Estuary
Highland
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Assynt - Coigach
Ben Nevis and Glen Coe
Dornoch Firth
Glen Affric
Glen Strathfarrar
Kintail
Knoydart
Kyle of Tongue
Loch Shiel
Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan
North West Sutherland
The Cairngorm Mountains - now a National Park
The Cuillin Hills
The Small Isles
Trotternish
Wester Ross
North Ayrshire
North Arran
Orkney Islands
Hoy and West Mainland
Perthshire and Kinross
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Loch Rannoch and Glen Lyon
Loch Tummel
River Earn (Comrie to St. Fillans)
River Tay (Dunkeld)
Shetland Isles
Shetland
Stirling
The Trossachs - now part of a National Park along with Loch Lomond.
Borders
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Eildon and Leaderfoot
Upper Tweeddale
Western Isles
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South Lewis, Harris and North Uist
South Uist Machair
St Kilda