Britain's Smallest & Largest National Park
Wordsworth's Grave and the Longest National Trail
Aug 28, 2008
Britain’s Smallest National Park, Longest National Trail and Largest National Park.
Pembrokeshire National Park
Pembrokeshire National Park in relation to the other Parks in the UK is tiny. Less than one-third the size of Snowdonia National Park it measures in at just 620 square kilometers. But it’s not just its size that make it unique but its position also.
It is a predominately coastal Park with its boundaries hardly straying inland more than two kilometers. It‘s this narrow strip of spectacular coastline that is home to Britain’s longest and some say finest National Trail – The Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
The Pembrokeshire Coast Path
This stunning scenic route of 186 miles starts at the northern end close to Cardigan a pretty historical town. It travels south closely hugging the dramatic rocky sea edge and quiet sandy beaches to Carmarthen Bay.
The trail passes the nearby offshore Islands of Skomer and Skokholm and is a fairly level all the way.
Marloes Peninsula walk has a maximum ascent of 400m on mostly good and clear paths, this 14 km path should take around 5.5 hours of walking time, the nearest town is Haverford West.
A Good guidebook for the area is;
- A Guide to the Pembrokeshire Coast Path by Christopher John Wright published by Constable.
For more information contact Haverford West Tourist Information 01437 763110
Skomer Island is a marine nature reserve which is home to over 50,000 breeding birds including puffins and Manx shearwaters and its beaches are a grey seal sanctuary with over 150 pups born and raised there every year.
Skokholm is also a breeding ground for shearwaters and puffins.
The Lake District National Park
The Lake District about which William Wordsworth said should be a ‘national property’ is Britain’s largest National Park. At 2292 square kilometers it includes 16 lakes or tarns. Windermere is the longest of these.
It took around 150 years for Wordsworth’s dream came true, the areas first guidebook which was published in 1810 and in it Wordsworth suggested that is should become ‘a sort of national property’, statement that many people regard as the first stirrings of the National Park movement.
Grasmere
Grasmere is the final resting place of Wordsworth and the beginning and end of a 13 km circular trail, which circles Grasmere Lake and Rydal Water.
Grasmere & Loughrigg Fell Walk has a maximum of altitude of 700m, a mostly low level walk that should be done in around 4.5 hours, the nearest town is Ambleside.
For more information contact Grasmere Tourist Information 015394 35245
Good guidebooks for the area are:
- The Central Fells by A Wainwright published by Frances Lincoln
- The Eastern Fells by A Wainwright published by Frances Lincoln
