English nature reserves. New Forest National Park, England How many national parks are there in England

A unique attraction in the UK is the Bempton Cliffs Nature Reserve, which specializes in seabird breeding. It stretches for 10 kilometers along the East Yorkshire coastline, and in some places reaches more than 100 meters in height.

Bempton Cliffs is home to over 200,000 seabirds, including cormorants, puffins and a single colony of Gannets. The hard chalk of Bempton Cliff is relatively resistant to erosion and has many sheltered headlands and crevices suitable for nesting birds. There are convenient passages along the top of the rock, and there are also several fenced and well-protected observation points. On the territory of the reserve there is a tourist center that organizes exciting excursions to the picturesque corners of Bempton Cliffs. From the top of the cliffs you can observe one of the largest colonies of seabirds in the UK and admire breathtaking views of the sea crashing against the high cliffs.

On the territory of the reserve there is a cafe and a souvenir shop, which is popular with visitors.

It is one of many public gardens that surround Alnwick Castle. It is located in England, in Northumberland. The castle is the second largest in Great Britain. His most important feature lies in the fact that it contains plants that can kill a person. The poison garden contains many dangerous plants.

Behind the large black gates you can see about 100 varieties of narcotic plants that are prohibited by law. They are used to make various drugs, including opium. IN Alnwick garden can see Belladonna Atropa, known as a deadly poison, strychnine, nightshade, which is used to make hashish, hemlock, cocaine and others.

It was organized relatively recently, but the history of other parks and gardens located near the castle began back in 1750. Only several centuries later, dangerous plants were added to the local gardening tradition.

Local gardens were created back in the days of the first Dukes of Northumberland, however, fell into disrepair during the Second World War. Currently, all the gardens are in perfect order and are very popular among tourists from all over the world.

The history of the renovation of the gardens is directly related to the current Duchess of Northmaberland. She became the mistress of the castle in 2000, after which the project of reconstruction and restoration of the beautiful gardens was launched.

The poison garden was founded in 2005. The source of inspiration was famous garden, located in Italy, near Padua. In it, the Medici family grew a variety of poisonous plants in order to fight their enemies in such a sophisticated way. Initially, the garden also contained medicinal plants, but over time they were removed to maintain the status of a poisonous garden.

Travelers and tourists wishing to explore Alnwick Gardens, can only do this in the company of a special guide who carefully ensures that no one touches poisonous plants. In addition, throughout the poisonous garden there are signs that warn of the deadly danger.

The Alnwick garden is under surveillance 24/7, and some plantations are fenced with barbed wire. The garden is designed to convey to people the idea of ​​the dangers of drugs.

Contact Information:
Address: Denwick Lane, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 1YU, UK
Phone: +44 1665 511350

In Britain they are very careful about nature and try in every possible way to preserve the existing ecosystem. English nature reserves are not only tourist sites, but also entire scientific centers. Most modern natural areas in the country are supplemented by separate tourist complexes, where you can relax with maximum comfort and even engage in active sports. Thus, in Snowdonia, hiking to the top of the mountains is often carried out, and windsurfing or sea fishing schools are organized in coastal reserves.

Ben Eigh Nature Reserve, which has been open since the mid-20th century, is a protected area of ​​nature on the shores of Loch Maree. Juniper thickets and pine forests are home to many rare animals and plants. Here you can find not only martens, deer and roe deer, but also a large population of gray geese.

Another Scottish nature reserve called Kenigorm, which is also famous for its pine forests, is home to the European forest cat and many birds, including wood grouse and black grouse. Also on its territory live golden eagles, peregrine falcons, ospreys and other predators that have almost completely disappeared in other areas of Great Britain.

The Glen Mawr Valley is a large tectonic fault that extends two hundred kilometers into Scotland. Along it there is a chain of long lakes - Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and the famous Loch Ness along with Loch Linne Bay. Here you can also see the highest mountain in Great Britain - Ben Nevis. Coastal cliffs and a mysterious lake, as well as indescribable natural beauty, attract hundreds of tourists every year.

The world's largest colony of seabirds has settled in a nature reserve on Glof Island. It was discovered only two decades ago, but now there are more than fifty species of birds, including many species rare in this region.

National Park The Peak District in central Britain was founded in the middle of the last century and is designed to preserve heathland and part of the forests surrounding the industrial areas of the country. This and science Center, and a place of rest for residents major cities like Liverpool or Manchester. Interestingly, the park even has karst caves with colonies of bats.

The Isle of Rum Nature Reserve offers heather-covered plains and wooded mountains, but its main attraction is its rocky coastline, home to seals and seabirds.

Snowdonia National Park is not only a place to preserve deciduous forests and mountainside meadows, but also has wonderful views with gorges and waterfalls. Also in the park is Mount Snowdon, which offers a magical panorama of half of Wales.

PEAK DISTRICT

Organized in 1950, with a total area of ​​140 thousand hectares, the Peak District National Park is located in Central England, in the southern part of the Pennines. The park was created to preserve fragments of deciduous woodland and heathland on the high plateaus of the southern Pennines, and it also serves as a water conservation area for the densely populated industrial area surrounding the park (about 20 million people live within a 50-mile radius of the park). big cities Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield).

Oak and birch copses alternating with heathland provide shelter to a variety of birds, including woodcock, green and great spotted woodpeckers, pied flycatcher, meadow pipit, white-throated blackbird, warblers, warblers, golden plover, merlin, short-eared owl and the rare here black grouse Vegetation is more varied on the mountain slopes, with ash, mountain elm, yew, linden, maple and wild cherry, as well as many flowering plants and field grasses.

The total forest cover of the national park is only 4 percent, and most of the wooded areas are artificial plantations. Also of interest are the karst caves in the limestones of the northern part of the park, where numerous bats live: long-whiskered bats and lesser horseshoe bats.

DARTMOOR

A characteristic feature of the bizarre granite massifs with an area of ​​over 1000 km² are the so-called tors, granite towers created by erosion and reminiscent of the creations of fairy-tale giants. A mountain swamp, like a sponge, retains rainwater. Several rivers flowing to the coast originate here. Dartmoor is home to prehistoric stone circles, dolmens, druid stones and burial mounds at every turn.

Nowhere else in England is there such an abundance of prehistoric monuments. Botanists also come to Dartmoor: they are interested in peat mosses, heathers, marsh grasses and reeds. Gloomy old oaks, their bark mottled with lichen, argue with the wind on the hilltops. Buzzards and crows, nesting in the forests, circle in the air, while curlews and plovers have chosen the damp lowlands and river banks. Among the rocks there are wild ponies, cows and white sheep. Unfortunately, on public transport You can only get to the edge of the moors - in South Brent and Ivybridge.

EXMOOR

The extensive Exmoor Forest Reserve, home to 243 species of birds and 900 species of flowers, grasses and shrubs, covers more than 700 km². Exmoor, like Dartmoor and the New Forest, has wild ponies. The national park is famous for the largest population of royal deer in England: there are from 800 to 1000 of them! There is a hiking trail on the Exmoor coast, next to steep cliffs where flocks of seabirds nest.

In the center of the swamps lies small village Exford is the starting point for excursions. South of Axford, the 55-meter Tarr Steps Bridge, made of several stone slabs, spans the shallow river Barlo. Nobody knows exactly when it was erected. It is believed that no later than the Bronze Age. As you move along the coast, be sure to stop by Selworthy. On the outskirts of the village there are tiled cottages with huge fireplaces. They were built in 1828 for his workers by Sir Thomas Ackland.

LAKE DISTRICT

The Lake District is vast and amazing beautiful area in the north of England. There are a lot of guests here in the summer and on weekends. This region is the largest national park in Great Britain. Its area is 2279 km². It owes its name to 16 large lakes. Here are also the most high mountains England. From above, the traveler's eyes offer a fabulous view of blue Lakes and rugged hills, foamy waterfalls and tiny villages with typical houses made of gray stone.

The gateway to the Lake District are the two small villages of Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere on the shores of Lake Windermere. It is the largest (17 km long) lake in England. Ferries depart from here to Sawrey and Ambleside. This is the perfect place to start hiking. The pleasure boat invites guests on a cruise around the islands.

SOUTH DOWNS

The South Downs became a new UK national park in 2009. This happened 60 years after the territory occupied by the park received state protected status.

The park covers an area of ​​over 1,600 square kilometers and stretches from Beachy Head in East Sussex to the borders of Winchester in Hampshire. The new national park includes Alice Holt Forest in east Hampshire and the Green Ridge near Brighton. Environmental groups call the South Downs the "green lung" of the south-east.

The unique chalk mountains, rivers and green valleys attract crowds of tourists to the South Downs. And experts say the new national park status will attract even more travelers in the coming years.

The park's main attractions are the Long Man of Wilmington, a figure carved into one of the chalk rocks, and the Clayton Windmills. There is also the Chattri War Memorial, dedicated to the Indian soldiers brought to Brighton hospitals from the Western Front in the First World War.

VALLEYS OF YORKSHIREYORKSHIRE DALES NATIONAL PARK

The Yorkshire Dales (also known as the Dales) is the name given to a mountainous area in Northern England.

The area is within historical boundaries counties of Yorkshire, although it covers the counties of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and Cumbria. Most of the region is within the Okrug National Park The Dales of Yorkshire, created in 1954, and now one of the twelve National Parks of England and Wales

The Dales are a collection of rivers and hills separating them, starting from the Vale of York west to the tops of the main Pennine watershed. In some places the area even extends west across the divide, but most runs eastwards towards the Vale of York - into the Ouse and then the Humber.

The word "Dales" comes from the Scandinavian/Germanic language meaning the name of a valley across Yorkshire, but since the creation of the Yorkshire Dales National Park it has been used to refer to the entire park.

The characteristic landscape of the "Dales" is green upland pastures, separated by stone walls and filled with sheep and cattle. The valleys themselves - U and V shaped - were formed by glaciers, mainly during the New Ice Age. The main rock is predominantly carbonaceous limestone interspersed with shale and sandstone.

Due to the limestone that is found throughout the "Valleys", extensive cave systems have formed, making this area an attractive tourist destination. Many of them are open to the public and to view this magnificence.

NORTHUMBERLAND NATIONAL PARK

Northumberland - probably located here greatest number castles and battlefields than anywhere else in England. The most interesting and famous tourist sites in the district are Hadrian's Wall and Northumberland National Park. The grassy Cheviot Hills, an elevated part of the park, are the most beautiful part of Northern England and are ideal for walking or horseback riding.

COTSWOLDS NATIONAL PARK

The Cotswolds, a huge limestone escarpment 18 miles northeast of Bristol, is a stunning beautiful place, full of the picturesque charm of Agatha Christie, and decorated with majestic cliffs, colorful English villages and wonderful views.

The Cotswolds are a charming area with honey-colored thatched cottages. Here, among the typically English rolling hills, are located trading cities with jagged half-timbered houses lining the main street and intersections paved with ancient cobblestones.

STONEHENGE

Stonehenge is a world-famous stone megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in England, located approximately 130 km southwest of London. According to the most common version, the name comes from the English. Stone Hedge - stone fence. Is an object World Heritage UNESCO.

According to news agencies, professor of archeology from the University of Sheffield, Mike Parker Person, who directs the Stonehenge Riverside Archaeological Project, noted that in his opinion, Stonehenge from the very beginning of its existence until its heyday in the third millennium BC was considered by the inhabitants of England as a territory for burying the dead .

The English writer and historian Tomm Brooks, as a result of his many years of research, concluded that Stonehenge was part of a giant navigation system consisting of isosceles triangles, the top of each of which pointed to the next point.

Located in the southeast of Great Britain, the New Forest National Park is rightfully considered the largest nature reserve in the country.

The New Forest was first mentioned in the Domesday Book (a medieval land census) in 1086. 90% of the 145 square miles of territory declared King's Forest in 1079 by William the Conqueror and to this day belongs to the British Crown. Over the past 900 years, the appearance of the area has changed several times. The once dense forest areas were ruthlessly destroyed for commercial purposes, leading to the almost complete disappearance of many fauna.

Since the 19th century, the New Forest has gradually been transformed, returning to its original appearance. Mass planting of forests and their population with wild animals - deer, martens, foxes, roe deer, badgers and wild ponies (New Forest ponies) - are being resumed. Efforts aimed at preserving the diversity of insects and birds led to the fact that in 2005 it received the status of a National Park.

Today the New Forest is a place of amazing beauty with a unique diversity of flora and fauna. Only 4 species of deer live on its territory: spotted, red, fallow deer and Chinese muntjac. In addition, the local population traditionally grazes their livestock here. In the park you can find both well-known amphibians - the viper and copperhead, as well as the lesser-known crested newt. Distinctive feature The reserve contains centuries-old beeches and oaks, as well as quite rare plants - pulmonary gentian, several species of club mosses and sundews.

There are 4 hotels at the disposal of tourists who decide to visit this picturesque corner. These are Forest Lodge Hotel, Moorhill House Hotel, Beaulieu Hotel and Bartley Lodge Hotel. The most popular local attractions are located in the village of Bewley. This is a noble manor house in Bewley and National Museum engines, which contains more than 300 vintage cars.

To obtain unforgettable experience To get closer to nature, it’s better to park your car and ride a bike or walk around the park.

New Forest - PHOTOS