An amazing legacy

Charlie Bullough celebrates the 70th anniversary of our national parks

Britain’s National Parks are celebrating their 70th birthday but the fight for the right to roam goes back even further.

The law creating these beautiful places was passed in 1949 but it was the culmination of a long campaign by ramblers and other groups.

It began in 1932 when a group of 400 walkers staged a mass trespass on the moors around Kinder Scout in Derbyshire to highlight the lack of access to open country in England and Wales. More protests followed and the Standing Committee for the National Parks - now the Campaign for National Parks was set up in 1936 as part of a growing movement to increase access to the countryside.

Andrew Hall, from the CNP, said: “The Kinder trespass was a reflection of the frustrations of the working people of Manchester and Sheffield at the lack of rights to recreation. It certainly gave the campaign to establish national parks a sharp-edged point of activism, but this too worried other organisations who were heavily involved in the fight.

“Getting National Parks on the agenda remained a struggle. World War Two however forced our politicians to consider policies reconstructing the nation and to consider the kind of nation post-war Britain would be. Thanks to the passion and hard work of people such as John Dower and Arthur Hobhouse, the case for National Parks really caught fire.”

The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act was passed in 1949. The first four National Parks: the Peak District, The Lake District, Snowdownia and Dartmoor were designated in 1951.

Mr Hall added: “If you think about the extraordinary achievement of the 1949 Act, the fact that these vast areas of land, including some of the most famous sites in England and Wales, were conserved for the good of the country, it’s unsurprising it took so long. Designation is complicated further by the nature of our National Parks. They are not sites of pure wilderness as you might find in the United States, but they are living landscapes with communities working and living in the National Park

boundaries. The fact is they remain one of the top environment achievements of the last 100 years.”

We now have 15 National Park across England, Scotland and Wales. Access to them was further bolstered by the The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

The 70th anniversary celebrations coincide with the newly expanded National Parks Fortnight. The April 6 to 21 event aims to champion all that is unique and special about National Parks.

Events will taking place across Britain to encourage people to get into the National Parks.The UK National Parks and the CNP also launched a joint photography competition to celebrate the anniversary.

Almost 1,500 pictures were submitted to ‘The Moment in Time’ contest. The competition was won by Kieran Metcalfe for his Tolkien-esque landscape shot in the Peak District, ‘The Dragon and the Flame’.

Mr Hall said: “It’s no exaggeration to say the National Parks make us who we are as a country. We are a richer, better country; economically, culturally and socially, thanks to this extraordinary family of designated landscapes. They are our world famous landscapes that international visitors flock to. Evidence is growing for the boost they provide to the country’s health and wellbeing.

“The National Parks are at the forefront of the country’s fight against climate change, preservation of the most important historical sites and home to globally rare habitats and species.

“They’re also just fun. Where else can you go kayaking, paragliding, horse riding, camping, rock climbing, hiking in the most stunning environments?

“The National Parks are not perfect and they certainly need improving, but they are special and the achievement of those men and women who had the vision to establish them deserved to be celebrated.”

It is an eventful time for National Parks as a Government review is set to ensure our designated landscapes are fit for the future. The review by Julian Glover, which is looking at England’s National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, will also consider expanding the network.

Mr Hall said: “The Glover review is wide reaching and the CNP has made a wide range of recommendations to better protect the Parks as well as improve their beauty and wildlife and to make them more accessible so that everyone can enjoy them.

“The National Parks face considerable challenges that require ambitious and innovative solutions. Threats from development, climate change and pollution cannot be the story of the National Parks going forward.”