MILLIONS of people are planning staycations this year – and what better way to kick off a UK break than heading into the great outdoors.

It’s National Parks Week, running until July 29, celebrating some of the most beautiful parts of the country.

Here JAMES MOORE puts together 15 fab facts about them…

ESTABLISHED by law in 1949 in order to preserve some of the country’s most precious landscapes, there are now 15 national parks – 10 in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland.

THE first to be officially designated was the Peak District, pictured above, in 1951. It has nearly 200 square miles of open access land. The most recent was the South Downs in 2010. The smallest park is the New Forest.

IN Wales national parks cover an impressive 20% of the land area. In England they cover up to 10% and 7% in Scotland.

MORE than eight in 10 of us have been to a national park at some point and they notch up an incredible 90million visitors a year.

HALF of us live within just an hour’s journey of a national park.

THE Lake District, the biggest in England, has also been voted the nation’s favourite national park. TV’s Julia Bradbury says her perfect day would involve “waking up in the Lake District, on a crisp September morning with the prospect of sun”.

OUR national parks generate a whopping £4billion a year, with volunteers putting in 43,000 hours of work on them annually.

THE highest point is Ben Macdui – the UK’s second highest mountain – in the Cairngorms. This park is the UK’s biggest park at more than 1,700 square miles.

THE view from Snowdon in the Snowdonia National Park has been voted the nation’s most spectacular vista.

NATIONAL parks boast a massive

4,500 national monuments such as Hadrian’s Wall in the Northumberland National Park.

A THIRD of England’s food with a protected name status is produced in national parks, including Yorkshire’s famous Wensleydale cheese.

WILDLIFE found in the UK’s national parks includes everything from golden eagles to red squirrels and wild ponies.

NATIONAL parks have been the backdrop to many TV series and films including Dartmoor in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse.

EVENTS to celebrate National Parks Week include everything from treasure hunts to canoe adventures.

ACROSS the world national parks cover 6% of the Earth’s land surface. The biggest is the Northeast Greenland National Park at four times the size of the UK.

For more information and details about events taking place around National Parks Week, visit www. nationalparks. gov.uk