Global Tourism : National Parks in the UK / Location and Aims 17

History : Britains National Parks were first established in the Key Terms :
1940s and new ones have been added since then.
National Park
Location : They are all in areas of spectacular scenery
which is protected from development which might spoil it. National park authority
Most are in upland, hilly regions where the attractions of hills, Land ownership
trees and water combine. Though some like The Broads are
low-land waterways. Conservation

How they Work : the land isnt owned by the Government Planning permission
its in private hands. But each park has a National Park Building controls
Planning Board who have extra power to give or refuse
planning permission for new developments in their Park so
they can control what is built and make sure it doesnt spoil Example / Case-Study :
the area. They can also make sure new buildings are built Lake District National Park,
out of local stone and painted traditional colours to blend in Cumbria, NW England
with the area powers that dont exist in areas outside the
National Park boundary.
Possible Questions :
Why were national parks
Who owns land in National Parks? established?
National Park Why are some areas selected for
Group Others
The Aims of National Parks
Army special protection for tourism?
Water Companies To protect and conserve the natural scenery, wildlife
and habitats within the National Park for future Weblinks
National Trust
generations.
charity http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/in
To encourage the public to visit and enjoy the leisure dex/learning/facts_and_figures.
Forestry Groups
opportunities offered by the National Park htm
To help maintain existing communities within the
National Park and their economic well-being
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningz
Some people say it is difficult to meet all these aims one/clips/introducing-britains-
Private farmers
without some conflict by encouraging more visitors green-belts-and-national-
this might spoil the natural scenery or cause problems parks/7406.html
for existing communities.
 Global Tourism : National Parks in the UK / Conflicts of Interest 18

Conflicts of Interest develop when the activities of one group of people interfere and spoil the
enjoyment of another group of people. They are common in national parks because so many Key Terms :
different people want to use them for so many different activities. It is up to the National Park Conflict of Interest
authorities to try to reduce these conflicts of interest.
Victims of the Conflict of Interest Quarrying
Causes of the Conflict of Interest
Walkers and bird-watchers
People who pay to shoot are worried for their safety
grouse and partridge on or that of the wildlife Example / Case-Study :
heather moorlands Lake District National Park,
Cumbria, NW England
Visitors who focus on certain villages Local residents who cant
and park their cars on grass verges get out of their drives or Possible Questions :
find car-parks all full
How can tourism cause problems
for some areas?
Visitors who think they can Do tourists always bring benefits
walk over any field in a Farmers who find their lambs chased
to an area?
National Park with a loose dog & killed by dogs and gates left open for
animals to wander onto roads
Weblinks
Visitors who light BBQs and Forestry workers who have http://www.northumberlandnati
drop cigarettes carelessly to put out fires in woodland onalpark.org.uk/conflictsofland
or on heather moorlands use.pdf

Visitors who want to drive Visitors who want to learn to canoe,

wind-surf or fish on quiet lakes BBC video clip on quarrying in
power-boats on large lakes a national park:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningz
Locals and visitors who dont want one/clips/yorkshire-dales-
Quarry owners who want quarrying/4813.html
to extend their quarries and any more of the area spoilt with
expand lorry deliveries blasting, quarrying & heavy lorries
 Global Tourism : National Parks in the UK / Footpath erosion 19

Footpath erosion is a major environmental conflict of interest in

many national parks. On Catbells Fell, near Keswick in the Key Terms :
Lake District the hill is within easy reach of the popular tourist Footpath erosion
town and a fairly easy climb, so gets thousands of feet
pounding the surface every summer leading to footpath erosion Grass die-back
Soil exposure
Heavy rainfall
Gulley erosion

The die-back of grass exposes the soil Example / Case-Study :

to the heavy Lake District rainfall,
which erodes the soil into a gulley. Catbells Fell, near Keswick,
Strategies to deal with footpath above Derwent Water, Lake
erosion are: District.

Protect well-used paths with local Possible Questions :

stone to give a hard surface
How can tourism damage the
Spread people out over the area by environment?
having alternative paths and zoning
cyclists onto harder wearing surfaces How can the negative impacts of
tourism be reduced?
Re-seeding the mountain sides with
fertiliser & grass seed by helicopter
Weblinks
BBC video clip of seeding
grass by helicopter
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningz
one/clips/managing-the-impact-
of-tourism-in-the-peak-district-
national-park/7411.html

http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/p
ath_erosion_factsheet.pdf
 Global Tourism : National Parks in the UK / Managing Conflicts of Interest 20

Key Terms :
Conflict resolution
Time-zoning
Space-zoning
Rationing
Honeypot

Example / Case-Study :
Bowness-on-Windermere, Lake
District

Possible Questions :
Is there anything that can be done
about the problems that come
with excessive tourist numbers?
What is a Honeypot and does it
bring benefits or problems?

Weblinks
Honeypots : A honeypot is a place which attracts a very large number of tourists. It may
be due to a Physical feature (such as Flamborough Head) or a Human feature (such as BBC video clip resolving
Alton Towers). Attracting large numbers of tourists to a certain feature place can bring lots conflicts of interest in the
of benefits (customers for hotels, restaurants and tourist shops) but also lots of issues Yorkshire Moors
such as congestion and prices in shops being raised which local people have to pay.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningz
In the Lake District there are many conflicts of interest around Honeypots. In places like one/clips/yorkshire-dales-
Bowness on Windermere they try to concentrate facilities for tourists such as car parks, conflict-resolution-in-the-
toilets and street cleaning. In other places the National Park authorities dont improve farming-community/4815.html
areas so that visitors are persuaded to go somewhere else so you dont get too many
people at any one place. This is known as rationing and can help disperse visitors.
 Global Tourism : National Parks in the UK / Honeypot Bowness-on-Windermere 21

Bowness-on-Windermere is a Lake District honeypot

on the eastern shore of Lake Windermere because :
Key Terms :
Accessibility
It is on England's largest lake Lake Windermere
Tourist facilities
It is the first place visitors come to on a lake as they
leave the M6 motorway so is very accessible by car Tourist activities
It has all the features visitors expect from a typical Lake Pedestrianisation
District location lake, hills, trees.
Gateway car-parks
There are many facilities in the town for visitors car
parks, toilets, cafes, tourist shops.
Example / Case-Study :
There are activities visitors can do go for a walk along
the shore, take a rowing boat, go on a lake cruise, explore Bowness-on-Windermere, Lake
the islands in the lake. District
Problems of Bowness being a honeypot
Possible Questions :
Car parks get full quickly locals find it hard to park Is there anything that can be done
Massive Traffic congestion in the narrow main streets about the problems that come
of small Lake District towns in summer with excessive tourist numbers?
Car-parks concentrate thousands of visitors into the
How is one honeypot dealing with
same starting point for their walks so paths wear
the issues it faces?
Local people feel the town isnt theirs in summer
house prices have gone up with ex-visitors retiring
to the town making houses too expensive for locals Weblinks
http://www.visitcumbria.com/a
Benefits of Bowness being a honeypot Plans to Manage Bowness Honeypot mb/bowness-on-
Businesses that rely on tourism get much greater A one-way system round the town helps windermere.htm
income hotels, cafes, souvenir shops, outdoor keep traffic moving smoothly
clothes shops, cruise boats, rowing boat hire.etc Plans to Pedestrianise the centre of Bowness
Other parts of the Lake District are quieter as so Creating Gateway car-parks at the edge of http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/e
many visitors just go to Bowness before going home Bowness to capture visitor cars as they arrive njoy_cumbria/famous_people/b
Key tourists attractions have been built in Bowness Establish year-round visitor attractions in eatrix_potter_attraction.shtml
make more money from visitors Beatrix Potter Bowness to spread visitors through the year.
World (museum)
 Global Tourism : National Parks in the UK / Lake Windermere Speed Ban 22

In 2005 a 10 mph speed limit was introduced by the Lake District National Park Authority on
Lake Windermere (6 mph close to shore). The effect was to ban speed boats and water-skiing
Key Terms :
on the lake Englands largest at 13 miles long. This has been a huge Conflict of Interest which Speed limit
is still causing protest years later. Power boats
For the Speed Ban Against the Speed Ban Water-skiing
Canoeists, swimmers &
Speedboat owners & water Compromise solution
wind-surfers who felt in
skiers who say this is the best
danger from speed boats Local businesses
and longest lake in England

Wildlife enthusiasts Example / Case-Study :

Hotel & guest-house
worried by the noise on
owners who say
nesting bird life Lake Windermere, Lake District
speedboat owners came
to stay for whole weeks
Residents who were Possible Questions :
disturbed by the noise
Bars & restaurant owners who say
theyve lost high-spending, young How has a conflict of interest
Environmentalists worried the lake wealthy visitors in favour of lower- been managed in an area you
shore was being eroded from the spending older visitors have studied?
wake waves
To what extent have strategies to
Local businesses which sold petrol, manage visitor pressure been
Local businesses which hire out repaired & serviced speedboats &
successful?
rowing boats, canoes & windsurfers hired out water-ski equipment

Evaluation of the Speed Limit on Lake Windermere Weblinks

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2005/
There are now more visitors going to Lake Windermere to
mar/29/conservationandendangeredspecies.u
canoe, windsurf & row than before the ban. knews
There are fewer younger & wealthy visitors now water-skiers
Some people say that those who wanted quiet activities could http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningne
use the other 14 lakes in the Lake District and leave the largest ws/news/s/173/173549_speed_limit_crushes_
lake in England for power boats and water-skiing. windermere_tourism.html

Others say that Time-Zoning would have been a better

compromise as the lake is often less used in the evening. Others http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/new
say Space-Zoning could have been used power boats in one s/7987289.Windermere_speed_limit_still_divi
half of the lake (or centre), and quiet activities in the other half des_opinion_five_years_on/