Why National Parks?

This book looks at the visions of the two main proponents of National Parks, the landscape protection and access movements, and asks how far their post-war expectations have been met. National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are, in statute, the highest forms of landscape protection in England and Wales. After sixty years they are perhaps more controversial than at any time in their history. The book asks if the current family of supporting organisations has succeeded or failed to explain their significance for the nation and, if we re-visit these early values, will the future of designated landscapes be more secure?