Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Natural attractions
Activity 1.6
Britain has an abundance of fi ne landscapes, from Land's
End to John O' Groats. Domestic and overseas visitors
are attracted to the beautiful coastline, the rugged
mountains, peaceful lakes and the picturesque valleys.
Many of these areas have been given special status to
protect their environment and provide facilities for their
enjoyment by the public, e.g. National Parks. The job
of overseeing these 'protected' areas in England lies
with Natural England, while the Countryside Council
for Wales (CCW) does a similar job in the Principality. In
Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is responsible
for National Parks and other protected areas, and the
Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) takes the lead
on protected area matters in Northern Ireland.
Download an outline map of the UK from
www.
tandtonline.co.uk
and draw on the map the position
of the existing National Parks in England, Wales and
Scotland, plus the proposed Mourne National Park
in Northern Ireland.
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P1.
Purpose-built attractions
The term 'tourist attraction' often brings to mind
a purpose-built facility, designed to provide fun,
entertainment, education or enjoyment - or a mixture
of all four! If asked to give the name of the fi rst major
tourist attraction in Britain which comes to mind, an
overseas visitor may well mention the Tower of London
or Buckingham Palace, while a British person might
say the Eden Project, the London Eye or Alton Towers.
Figure 1.7 gives the visitor numbers for Britain's most
popular tourist attractions in 2009.
Weblink
Check out these websites for more
information on the work of these four
agencies in landscape protection, tourism
and recreation.
www.naturalengland.org.uk;
www.ccw.gov.uk; www.snh.org.uk;
www.ni-environment.gov.uk
Castle Howard in Yorkshire is a popular heritage attraction
