National Parks in Northwest Europe

Overview

The first time in history that a federal government actually set aside scenic lands simply to protect them and to allow all people to enjoy it was in the US during the end of the 19th century. This developed into Yellowstone becoming the first official national park a few years later, in 1872. In Europe the first national parks were a set of nine parks in Sweden in 1909. Europe has approximately 359 national parks at the moment. After World War II, national parks were founded all over the world. Some countries were rather late with establishing national parks. In France the Vanoise National Park in the Alps was the first national park, created in 1963 after public mobilization against a touristic project.

Links to other National Park pages in Europe

NPs of Central and Eastern Europe
NPs of West Europe
NPs of North Europe
NPs of Northeast Europe

Ireland

Mweelrea, Connemara. Photo by WoundedKnee.

National Park name	Climate/location.	What kind of place.
Burren	xxxxx	Mountains.
Glenveagh	xxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx.
Connemara	xxxxx	Mountains and horses.
Ballycroy	xxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx.
Killarney	xxxxx	Mxxxxxx.
Wicklow Mountains	xxxxxxx	xxxxxxxx.

UK overview

National parks in England, Wales and Scotland are quite different from those in many other countries. In the United Kingdom, none of parks are wilderness areas owned by the government. Designation as a national park can include substantial settlements and land uses which are often integral parts of the landscape, and land within a national park remains largely in private ownership.

National Parks in England, Wales and Scotland

Wales

Snowdon from Crib Goch. Photo by mtnbiker converted.

There are 3 national parks in Wales.

National Park name	Climate/location.	What kind of place.
Snowdonia/Eryri	Rainy, maritime climate.	Mountains, wooded valleys, rivers, lakes and coastline.
Pembrokeshire Coast(Welsh: Arfordir Penfro)	xxxxxx	Mountains.
Brecon Beacons(Welsh: Bannau Brycheiniog)	xxxxxx	Mountains.

Scotland

Typical Cairngorms landscape. Photo by Phil McLean.

There are two national parks of Scotland.

National Park name	Climate/location.	What kind of place.
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park	Montane zone.	20 Munros (mountains above 3000ft), the highest is Ben More at 1174m, 20 Corbetts (mountains between 2500ft and 3000ft), glens, lochs and lochans. Rivers and large burns. Forest. Ben Lomond, The Cobbler (Ben Arthur), Ben Cruachan, and Aonach Eagach. There's a hiking route, The West Highland Way, which goes through the park to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain.
Cairngorms National Park	Montane zone.	Mountainous areas, moorlands, forests, rivers, lochs and glens. It is home to 25% of Britain’s threatened species. 4 of Scotland's 5 highest mountains lies within the park. (The UK gov't calls it "arctic"...) Scottish Crossbill, (endemic) Golden Eagle, Osprey, Dotterell, Capercaillie, and Crested Tit, pine martens, red squirrels, badgers, wildcats, water vole, and otters. Freshwater pearl mussel, salmon, trout, and rare lampreys. Cairn Gorm, Ben Macdui and Lochnagar.

England

Scafell Pike as seen from Bowfell. Photo by Klenke.

National parks in England and Wales are quite different from those in many other countries. In England and Wales, designation as a national park can include substantial settlements and land uses which are often integral parts of the landscape, and land within a national park remains largely in private ownership. There are 9 national parks in England.

National Park name	Climate/location.	What kind of place.
Peak District	xxxxx	Predominately gritstone climbing in the northern 'Dark Peak' and limestone climbing in the southern 'White Peak'. A wide area of rolling hills and escarpments, such as Stanage Edge, with Kinder Scout the highest point at 636m. Principle activities are climbing, caving and hiking.
Lake District	xxxx	England's highest land area of mountains and lakes.
Dartmoor	xxxx	Moor and horses.
North York Moors	xxxxx	Moor.
Yorkshire Dales	Sub-Arctic	Mountains and lakes.
Exmoor	xxxx	Moor and horses.
Northumberland	xxxx	Moor.
The Broads	xxxx	Moor.
New Forest	xxxx	Moor and horses.

The South Downs is in the process of being designated as a national park.

Northern Ireland

None.
An effort was being made in 2002 to establish the first park for the Mountains of Mourne.

Luxembourg

Belgium

Grenspark De Zoom - Kalmthoutse Heide North Brabant, Antwerp (Belgium)

Netherlands

National parks in the Netherlands were defined in the 1960s as areas of at least 10 km², consisting of natural terrains, water and/or forests, with a special landscape and flora and fauna, although the first (private) national park was founded in 1909 (Hoge Veluwe) - after the Swedish example. Since the late eighties there has been a large increase in the number of national parks; 80% were founded in the last 20 years. Hoge Veluwe still is the only national park for which you need to pay an entrance fee; reminiscent of it's private past and present. Hoge Veluwe also contains the Kroller-Muller museum, which has a large number of Van Gogh paintings.

National Park name	Climate/location.	What kind of place.
Nationaal Park Lauwersmeer	Maritime (Coastal)	Dammed estuary
Nationaal Park Schiermonnikoog	Maritime (Island)	Island Ecosystem
Nationaal Park De Alde Feanen	Maritime	Extensive peat bogs
Nationaal Park Drents-Friese Wold	Semi-Continental	Forested inland dunes, moorland
Nationaal Park Dwingelderveld	Semi-Continental	Extensive heather
Nationaal beek- en esdorpenlandschap Drentsche Aa	Semi-Continental	Ancient cultural landscape
Nationaal Park De Weerribben	Maritime	Marshland, Peat bogs
Nationaal Park Sallandse Heuvelrug	Semi-Continental	Ice age Glacial features, woods, heather
Nationaal Park Veluwezoom	Semi-Continental	Ice age Glacial features, woods, heather
Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe	Semi-Continental	Ice age Glacial features, woods, heather, inland dunes
Nationaal Park Utrechtse Heuvelrug	Semi-Continental	Ice age Terminal Moraine and Woods
Nationaal Park Duinen van Texel	Maritime (Coastal)	Coastal Dunes and Tidal Flats
Nationaal Park Zuid-Kennemerland	Maritime (Coastal)	Coastal Dunes and Forest
Nationaal Park Oosterschelde	Maritime (Saltwater Estuary)	Saltwater Estuary
Nationaal Park De Biesbosch North Brabant	Maritime	Tidal Marshlands
Nationaal Park De Loonse en Drunense Duinen	Maritime	Inland Dunes and Forest
Nationaal Park De Groote Peel	Semi-Continental	Moorland
Nationaal Park De Maasduinen	Semi-Continental	Fluvial Sanddunes
Nationaal Park De Meinweg	Semi-Continental	Horst and Graben

Germany

National Park name	Climate/location.	What kind of place.
Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park	xxxxxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park	Sea	xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park	xxxxxxxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jasmund National Park	Sea	xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Vorpommern Lagoon Area National Park	Sea	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Müritz National Park	Sea	xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Lower Oder Valley National Park	Sea	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Harz National Park	xxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Kellerwald-Edersee National Park (a part of Kellerwald)	Sea	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hainich National Park	xxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Eifel National Park	Sea	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Saxon Switzerland National Park	xxxxxx	Mountains.
Bavarian Forest National Park	Sea	Mountains
Berchtesgaden National Park	xxxxxx	xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

Images

View National Parks in Northwest Europe Image Gallery - 2 Images