43042 (The National Parks of Great Britan)

54

School - ghymnasia №6

Project work

The Natieonal Parks of Great Britan

Dany by: Chernyshova Nastya

From

Teacher: Kestel O. V.

Semey 2009

Content

1. Introduction

2. Dartmoor National park

History

Pre-history

Beardown Man, Dartmoor

The historical period

Myths and literature

Towns

Physical geography

Rivers

3. Peak district national park

History

Early history

Medieval to modern history

Transport

History

Totley Tunnel on the Manchester to Sheffield line

Road network

Public transport

Geography

4. The Broads National Park

History

Geography

5. Queen Elizabeth Park, British Columbia

History

Attractions

6. History of the New Forest

New Forest National Park

Geography

7. Exmoor

History

Geology

Coastline

Flora

Fauna

Places of interest

8. Yorkshire Dales

Yorkshire Dales National Park

Geography

Cave systems

9. Lake District

General geography

Development of tourism

Conclusion

Additional material

Literature

1. Introduction

The theam of my project work “National parks of Great Britan".

National Parks of Great Britan cover approximately 7% of the country. They did not have any special exotic animals or plants, But such areas as Dartmoor, Peak District, Yorkshire, Valley Noth York, the New Forest and Broads every year attract thousends of tourists. The peculiarity of the British National parks in that it isn’t “dead" area, And quite close to major urban areas, which allowed any activity aimed at restoration of nature, so most of the National psrks are more like the great urban parks or botanical gardens. Many of them - private ownership.

In my project work, I will write about some of them.

Special attention I wiil pay to the study of history, culture and geography.

2. Dartmoor National park

Dartmoor is an area of moorland in the centre of Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers 368 square miles (953 km2).

The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops (known as tors), providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The highest point is High Willhays, 621 m (2,037 ft) above sea level. The entire area is rich in antiquities and archaeology.

Dartmoor is managed by the Dartmoor National Park Authority whose 26 members are drawn from Devon County Council, local District Councils and Government.

Parts of Dartmoor have been used as a military firing range for over two hundred years. The public enjoy extensive access rights to the rest of Dartmoor, and it is a popular tourist destination. The Park was featured on the TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as the top natural wonder in South West England.

History

Pre-history

The majority of the prehistoric remains on Dartmoor date back to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Indeed, Dartmoor contains the largest concentration of Bronze Age remains in the United Kingdom, which suggests that this was when a larger population moved onto the hills of Dartmoor.

The climate at the time was warmer than today, and much of today’s moorland was covered with trees. The prehistoric settlers began clearing the forest, and established the first farming communities. Fire was the main method of clearing land, creating pasture and swidden types of fire-fallow farmland. Areas less suited for farming, tended to be burned for livestock grazing. Over the centuries these Neolithic practices greatly expanded the upland moors, contributed to the acidification of the soil and the accumulation of peat and bogs.

The nature of the soil, which is highly acidic, means that no organic remains have survived. However, by contrast, the high durability of the natural granite means that their homes and monuments are still to be found in abundance, as are their flint tools. It should be noted that a number of remains were “restored" by enthusiastic Victorians and that, in some cases, they have placed their own interpretation on how an area may have looked.

Beardown Man, Dartmoor

Numerous menhirs (more usually referred to locally as standing stones or longstones), stone circles, kistvaens, cairns and stone rows are to be found on the moor. The most significant sites include:

Beardown Man, near Devil’s Tor - isolated standing stone 3.5 m (11 ft) high, said to have another 1 m (3.3 ft) below ground. grid reference SX596796

Challacombe, near the prehistoric settlement of Grimspound - triple stone row. grid reference SX689807

Drizzlecombe, east of Sheepstor village - stone circles, rows, standing stones, kistvaens and cairns. grid reference SX591669

Grey Wethers, near Postbridge - double circle, aligned almost exactly north south. grid reference SX638831

Laughter Tor, near Two Bridges - standing stone 2.4 m (7.9 ft) high and two double stone rows, one 164 m (540 ft) long. grid reference SX652753

Merrivale, between Princetown and Tavistock - includes a double stone row 182 m (600 ft) long, 1.1 m (3.6 ft) wide, aligned almost exactly east-west), stone circles and a kistvaen. grid reference SX554747

Scorhill, west of Chagford - circle, 26.8 m (88 ft) in circumference, and stone rows. grid reference SX654873

Shovel Down, north of Fernworthy reservoir - double stone row approximately 120 m (390 ft) long. grid reference SX660859

There are also an estimated 5,000 hut circles still surviving today, despite the fact that many have been raided over the centuries by the builders of the traditional dry stone walls. These are the remnants of Bronze Age houses. The smallest are around 1.8 m (6 ft) in diameter, and the largest may be up to five times this size.

Some have L-shaped porches to protect against wind and rain - some particularly good examples are to be found at Grimspound. It is believed that they would have had a conical roof, supported by timbers and covered in turf or thatch.

Many ancient structures, including the hut circles at Grimspound, were reconstructed during the 19^th century - most notably by civil engineer and historian Richard Hansford Worth. Some of this work was based more on speculation than archaeological expertise, and has since been criticised for its inaccuracy.

The historical period

The climate worsened over the course of a thousand years from around 1000 BC, so that much of high Dartmoor was largely abandoned by its early inhabitants.

It was not until the early medieval period that the weather again became warmer, and settlers moved back onto the moors. Like their ancient forebears, they also used the natural granite to build their homes, preferring a style known as the longhouse - some of which are still inhabited today, although they have been clearly adapted over the centuries. Many are now being used as farm buildings, while others were abandoned and fell into ruin.

The earliest surviving farms, still in operation today, are known as the Ancient Tenements. Most of these date back to the 14^th century and sometimes earlier.

Some way into the moor stands the town of Princetown, the site of the notorious Dartmoor Prison, which was originally built both by, and for, prisoners of war from the Napoleonic Wars. The prison has a (now misplaced) reputation for being escape-proof, both due to the buildings themselves and its physical location.

The Dartmoor landscape is scattered with the marks left by the many generations who have lived and worked there over the centuries - such as the remains of the once mighty Dartmoor tin-mining industry, and farmhouses long since abandoned. Indeed the industrial archaeology of Dartmoor is a subject in its own right.

Myths and literature

Dartmoor abounds with myths and legends. It is reputedly the haunt of pixies, a headless horseman, a mysterious pack of ‘spectral hounds’, and a large black dog. During the Great Thunderstorm of 1638, Dartmoor was even said to have been visited by the Devil.

Many landmarks have ancient legends and ghost stories associated with them, such as Jay’s Grave, the ancient burial site at Childe’s Tomb, the rock pile called Bowerman’s Nose, and the stone crosses that mark mediaeval routes across the moor.

A few stories have emerged in recent decades, such as the ‘hairy hands’, that are said to attack travellers on the B3212 near Two Bridges.

Dartmoor has inspired a number of artists and writers, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventure of Silver Blaze, Eden Phillpotts, Beatrice Chase, Agatha Christie and the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould.

Towns

and villages

Dartmoor has a resident population of about 33,400, which swells considerably during holiday periods with incoming tourists. For a list, expand the Settlements of Dartmoor navigational box at the bottom of this page.

Physical geography

Tors.

Dartmoor is known for its tors - large hills, topped with outcrops of bedrock, which in granite country such as this are usually rounded boulder-like formations. There are over 160 tors on Dartmoor. They are the focus of an annual event known as the Ten Tors Challenge, when over a thousand people, aged between 14 and 21, walk for distances of 35, 45 or 55 miles (56, 72 or 89 km) over ten tors on many differing routes. While many of the hills of Dartmoor have the word “Tor” in them quite a number do not, however this does not appear to relate to whether there is an outcrop of rock on their summit.

The highest points on Dartmoor are High Willhays (grid reference SX580895) at 621 m (2,040 ft) and Yes Tor (grid reference SX581901) 619 m (2,030 ft) on the northern moor. Ryder’s Hill (grid reference SX690660), 515 m (1,690 ft), Snowdon 495 m (1,620 ft), and an unnamed point at (grid reference SX603645),493 m (1,620 ft) are the highest points on the southern moor. Probably the best known tor on Dartmoor is Haytor (also spelt Hey Tor) (grid reference SX757771), 457 m (1,500 ft). For a more complete list see List of Dartmoor tors and hills.

Rivers

The levels of rainfall on Dartmoor are considerably higher than in the surrounding lowlands. With much of the national park covered in thick layers of peat, the rain is usually absorbed quickly and distributed slowly, so that the moor is rarely dry.

In areas where water accumulates, dangerous bogs or mires can result. Some of these, up to 12 feet (3.7 m) across and topped with bright green moss, are known to locals as “feather beds” or “quakers", because they shift (or ‘quake’) beneath your feet. This is the result of accumulations of sphagnum moss growing over a hollow in the granite filled with water.

Another consequence of the high rainfall is that there are numerous rivers and streams on Dartmoor. As well as shaping the landscape, these have traditionally provided a source of power for moor industries such as tin mining and quarrying.

The Moor takes its name from the River Dart, which starts as the East Dart and West Dart and then becomes a single river at Dartmeet.

For a full list, expand the Rivers of Dartmoor navigational box at the bottom of this page.

Angling.

Angling is a popular pastime on the moor, especially for migratory fish such as salmon.

Kayaking and canoeing.