3. English parks
Marvellous London parks - a separate tourist route, it is comparable with a tour of the Tower of London, the London National Gallery and the Museum of Madame Tussauds. They were created, mainly in the XV-XVI centuries for the royals and their entourage, and the law is still privately owned. Even the swans in the pond and park lakes, as well as pelicans - the descendants of pelicans brought the gift of Britain in the XVII century Russian ambassador - and they belong to the Queen. That does not object to mortals admired her property, but would not harm the birds and the flowers did not tear.
Each park has its own specifics. Here's Hyde Park, for example - one and a half square kilometers, with a lake, tennis courts, beach chairs. Proper British mothers with children cool off here all day, worn with rackets on the court with the perfect finish, and ride in boats on the lake. Then have a snack at a nearby cafe and over. In Hampstead Heath or Bushy Park entertainment are the same, only twice as much territory.
And there is another park - near Birmingham, near the old mill, in the place where the child was living in a great English writer Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Perhaps, the park will be called Hobbitland, or something like that. But there is clearly not actors, bad implement ridiculous suspicious nasty goblins or gnomes: Tolkien always objected to the material embodiment of his characters. This is not California. Adult visitors will walk slowly, looking into the neat and comfortable mink inhabited by hobbits homebody. And the little boys and girls will be no end to ride the rides, taking them for the miracles snezhnoborodym magician Gandalf. Feeling that the heroes of "The Lord of the Rings" exist in reality and somewhere nearby. This feeling is very real.
4. National park
The National Parks in the UK protect some of the most spectacular and valued landscapes in England Scotland and Wales. It may surprise some visitors that National Parks in the UK also protect farms, villages and cultural heritage.
Unlike the national parks of North America, the 15 National Parks in the UK are not large, virgin wilderness areas owned by public bodies. They are, in fact, populated places, with much of the land in private ownership, where people who farm the land or settle in the towns and villages take part in preserving Britain's wild and worked landscapes.
Early on, it was decided that in many areas, British farming and village life had shaped its characteristic landscapes and should be preserved - even in relatively remote and wildly beautiful landscapes. So, while the national parks in the UK protect some of the most breathtaking wildlife and scenery in the UK and provide access and facilities for their enjoyment, they also protect buildings and places of architectural and historic interest and maintain established farming use.
Within the UK National Parks, visitors can find a mixture of privately owned land and land owned or controlled by the the National Trust,The Forestry Commission, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and central and local government.
There are mountains, moors, woodlands, marshland, pasture, lakes and coasts. Most UK National Parks have numerous nature reserves that shelter rare species - native red squirrels, wild ponies, orchids and ospreys.
Some Facts About The National Parks in The UK:
- At least 331,000 people live in the National Parks of England, Scotland and Wales.
- There are at nearly 4,000 ancient monuments in the UK National Parks.
- The UK National Parks contain more than 350 Conservation areas which are protected areas of special architectural interest.
- England's National Parks cover 7% of its land area.
In Wales, the National Parks cover 20% of the land.
- National Parks cover 7.3 per cent of Scotland.
7,842 square miles are included in UK National Parks.
- The largest National Park is The Cairngorms in Scotland, covering 1,467 square miles.
- The oldest National Park, The Peak District, was founded in 1951.
- The newest National Park is The South Downs, established in April, 2009.