Revision:National Parks

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National Parks

“Areas of great natural beauty giving opportunity for open air recreation, established so that natural beauty can be preserved & enhanced and so that the enjoyment of the scenery by the public can be promoted.”

National parks were created for aesthetic rather than for conservation reasons. Often there is a large mistrust between rural landowners & city people. Ramblers want more space to roam; landowners don’t leading to a dispute.

National Parks:

• Contain diverse & spectacular scenery.
• Are mainly under private ownership. Most landowners give means to provide access to the countryside but they may restrict access. This may cause privacy problems.
• Public access encouraged but restricted to footpaths, bridleways etc.
• Support the local population.
• Contain a variety of scenery for different recreational activities.

Location

Located within easy reach of major conurbations so that the maximum number of people visit & give people the opportunity to escape to the country. The development of the motorway network has dramatically reduced travel times.

Conflict of users

Competition for land:

• Town dwellers – want rest & relaxation.
• Farmers want to protect & cultivate the land.
• Forestry Commission – lots of trees where soils are poor.
• Mining & quarrying e.g. slate – jobs but ruins local environment.
• Reservoirs in L District etc.
• Ministry of defence
• Walkers & climbers want free access to the whole park.
• Demand for housing – suburbanisation & 2nd homes.
• Conservationists – Want reserves to protect wildlife.

Honeypots

Areas of attractive scenery e.g. Malham Cove in Yorkshire – lots tourists

It is difficult to preserve beauty while providing facilities. E.g. Malham where steps have been cut into the rock. These areas need careful management but may be sacrificed for the good of other sites. Honeypots need to be protected from over-use & conflict.

Problems & solutions are:

• Footpath erosion – New routes
  • Artificial surfaces
  • Areas fenced off, landscaping.
• Litter & vandalism – introduce picnic areas & park wardens.
• Congestion on roads – Park & ride, closure of roads.
• Honeypots – develop new honeypots & attractions.
• Conflict of users – restrict tourist access, separate activities.
• Unsightly cafes or roads – screened behind trees & painted in natural colours.

Carrying Capacity – The point at which visitors become a problem for local people or the environment.

• Environmental carrying capacity – The number of visitors cause physical damage.
• Psychological carrying capacity – pleasure reduced by the shear number of people.
• Cultural/social carrying capacity – volume of people become a nuisance to locals.

National Trails

169,000 km of paths in England linked up to create long distance footpaths e.g. Pennine Way.

Forests

Run by the Forestry Commission & open to the public they have huge potential for recreation as they have a very high carrying capacity e.g. Grisedale forest, L District. The site can be improved by planting deciduous corridors along the footpaths as it looks better & is better for wildlife than monotonous conifers.

Lake District National Park

12 million people visit the Lake District every year. There is a total population of 40,000 consisting of:

1. Tourists
2. Local population.
3. Retired & 2nd homeowners.

The Lake District contains a mixture of landscapes with stunning glacial scenery such as aretes, corries & troughs. There is access to 3200km of footpaths & a wide range of ecosystems from freshwater, woodland & grassland to heathland. The area also contains 101 SSSIs & 6 national nature reserves.

Problems created by visitors

1. Traffic – congestion on approach roads & bottlenecks e.g. Ambleside.
   • Limited public transport so people rely on car.
   • Parking problems
   • Air & noise pollution.
   • Area is unsuitable for large volumes of traffic.

• Footpath erosion – Popular routes become scarred

1. • Guidebooks attract people to remote areas.

• Second / Holiday homes – Forces house prices up

1. • Local people forced out, particularly the young.

• Honeypots – People congregate in large numbers. E.g. Langdale, Scafell Pike & Ambleside.

Footpath Erosion

This is a key problem as it creates a scar on the landscape & is expensive to repair. Footpath erosion may be caused by:

• Surface water
• Climate – heavy rain, strong winds & frosts.
• Soil & rock type.
• Slope angle
• Pressure of use by tourists.
• Type of vegetation – Mat grass resists trampling best.

Stages of footpath erosion:

1. Vegetation dies away so the soil is less protected & there are fewer roots to hold the soil together.
2. Soil is compacted reducing the amount that can be infiltrated.
3. Rainwater washes away the soil forming a shallow gulley.
4. The gulley acts as a channel for water and so accelerates the rate of erosion.
5. People trample the path at the sides causing further widening & deepening of the path.

This all leads to conflicts in the countryside with the local population, especially farmers & conservationists who want to protect the area.

Solutions – Management Policies

• Landscaping – Repairing damaged stone walls.
  • Trees planted to screen car parks & quarries.
  • Maintenance of footpaths through better drainage, use of stone paths, matting over boggy ground & reseeding of the path to allow vegetation recovery.
• Traffic management - They want to improve public transport & reduce periodic traffic. They also want to keep the area as quiet as possible and adjust the flow of traffic to the availability of existing roads.
  1. Road heirachy – reclassification & downgrading of roads so as not to give the wrong impression to motorists. There will be speed & weight limits based on the volume of traffic and many minor roads are for cyclists, walkers & horses only – green roads
  2. Integration of rail, bus & Lake Steamer transport.
  3. Local initiatives –
     • Village traffic calming schemes.
     • Bus priority lanes e.g. Windermere.
     • Improved bus services.
     • Cattle grids & speed limits on open land.
     • Access-only roads.

     However these schemes have caused some worries about loss of trade & that they may actually exaggerate traffic problems e.g. Elterwater.

• Zoning of the Park – Reduce the conflicts by setting aside certain areas. Therefore some areas are quiet areas for walking & others are set-aside for outdoor activities. E.g. many of the lakes have areas for fishing, motor boating & nature conservation.
• Promotion of Remote locations to reduce pressure in honeypots – e.g. West locations which are outside the park.

Also See

• Urban Deprivation in MEDCs
• Global Variations in Urbanisation
• Management and Planning in Urban Areas
• Changes in the Central Areas of Cities
• Urbanisation at the Fringe
• Greenbelts - Preventing Urban Growth
• New Towns
• Megacities
• The influence of Urban Economies on Rural Areas
• Agriculture in LEDCs
• Agriculture in MEDCs
• Resources in Rural Areas
• The Globalisation of Food Production
• Farming at a Global Scale
• Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
• Farming Case studies
• National Parks

Comments

These notes were originally written by F1_fanatic and posted here on TSR Forums. They are suitable for people studying for geography at A Level.