PARKS & RECREATION

SEVENTY YEARS SINCE THE UK’S FIRST NATIONAL PARKS WERE CREATED, THEY’RE RECEIVING MORE VISITORS THAN EVER. BUT WITH RISING TOURIST FOOTFALL AND DECLINING BIODIVERSITY, HANDS-ON HELP TO PRESERVE OUR PARKS IS VITAL. VOLUNTEERING, WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN ESSENTIAL TO MAINTAINING THESE WILD LANDSCAPES, OFFERS A UNIQUE AND REWARDING WAY TO EXPLORE THE GREAT OUTDOORS.

- SARAH BARRELL

Since the first national parks were created in 1951 — the Peak District, Lake District, Dartmoor and Snowdonia — they’ve been joined by 15 others across England, Wales and Scotland. And they’re more popular than ever. Last year saw record numbers of visitors, many first-timers. Designated for their unique or special qualities, our national parks are the stuff of lockdown cabin-fever dreams. They take in such diverse spots as the Cairngorms — the UK’s biggest national park, home to five of Scotland’s six highest peaks — and Snowdonia, where you’re treated to magnificent coastal landscapes in addition to Wales’s loftiest mountain. Free-roaming animals are encountered in all parks, from New Forest ponies to deer, red squirrels and myriad bird species.

Each park also offers traffic-free terrain for hiking, biking and day-tripping, along with a growing smorgasbord of outdoors pursuits, from caving, coasteering and trail running, to horse-riding, kayaking, paragliding, rock climbing, skiing and more. Natural playgrounds they may be, but they’re also among the UK’s most fragile ecosystems — landscapes that volunteer work has long been crucial to help safeguard.