Сочинение: The National Parks of Great Britan
However, the area covered by the park does not
include all the areas which were initially proposed; excluding most of the
valley of the River Avon to the west of the forest and Dibden Bay to the east. Two
challenges were made to the designation order, by Meyrick Estate Management Ltd
in relation to the inclusion of Hinton Admiral Park, and by RWE Npower Plc to
the inclusion of Fawley Power Station. The second challenge was settled out of
court, with the power station being excluded. The High Court upheld the first
challenge; [13] but an appeal against the decision was then heard
by the Court of Appeal in Autumn 2006. The final ruling, published on 15 February
2007, found in favour of the challenge by Meyrick Estate Management Ltd, [14]
and the land at Hinton Admiral Park is therefore excluded from the New Forest National Park.
The New Forest Heritage Area covers about 580 km²
(143321 acres), and the New Forest SSSI covers almost 300 km² (74131 acres),
making it the largest contiguous area of un-sown vegetation in lowland Britain. It includes roughly:
146 km² (36077 acres) of broadleaf
woodland
118 km² (29158 acres) of heathland and
grassland
33 km² (8154 acres) of wet heathland
84 km² (20756 acres) of tree plantations
(“inclosures”) established since the 18th century, including 80 km²
(19768 acres) planted by the Forestry Commission since the 1920s.
It is drained to the south by two rivers, the Lymington
and Beaulieu.
Exmoor is a National
Park situated on the Bristol Channel coast of south west England. The park straddles two counties, with 71% of the park located in Somerset and 29%
located in Devon. The total area of the park, which includes the Brendon Hills
and the Vale of Porlock, covers 267 square miles (691.5 km2) of
hilly open moorland and includes 34 miles (55 km) of coast. It is primarily an
upland area with a dispersed population living mainly in small villages and
hamlets. The largest settlements are Porlock, Dulverton, Lynton, and Lynmouth,
which together contain almost 40% of the National Park population. Lynton and
Lynmouth are combined into one parish and are connected by the Lynton and
Lynmouth Cliff Railway.
Prior to being a park, Exmoor was a Royal
Forest and hunting ground, which was sold off in 1818. Exmoor was one of the
first British National Parks, designated in 1954, under the 1949 National Parks
and Access to the Countryside Act, [1] and is named after the main
river that flows out of the district, the River Exe.
Several areas of the moor have been declared a
Site of Special Scientific interest due to the flora and fauna. This title
earns the site some legal protection from development, damage, and neglect. In
1993 Exmoor was also designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area.
There is evidence of occupation of the area by
people from times, onward. In the Neolithic period, people started to manage
animals and grow crops on farms cleared from the woodland, rather than act
purely as hunters and as gatherers It is also likely that extraction and
smelting of mineral ores to make metal tools, weapons, containers and ornaments
started in the late Neolithic, and continued into the bronze and iron ages. An
earthen ring at Parracombe is believed to be a Neolithic henge dating from 5000-4000
BC, and “Cow Castle", which is where White Water meets the River Barle, is
an Iron Age fort at the top of a conical hill. [25] Tarr Steps are
a prehistoric (circa 1000 BC) clapper bridge across the River Barle,
about 2.5 miles (4 km) south east of Withypool and 4 miles (6 km) north west of
Dulverton. The stone slabs weigh up to 5 long tons (5,080 kg) apiece and the
bridge has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building, to
recognise its special architectural, historical or cultural significance. There
is little evidence of Roman occupation apart from two fortlets on the coast
Holwell Castle, at Parracombe, was a Norman motte
and bailey castle built to guard the junction of the east-west and north-south
trade routes, enabling movement of people and goods and the growth of the
population Alternative explanations for its construction suggest it may have
been constructed to obtain taxes at the River Heddon bridging place, or to
protect and supervise silver mining in the area around Combe Martin. It was 131
feet (40 m) in diameter and 20 feet (6 m) high above the bottom of a rock cut
ditch which is 9 feet (3 m) deep. It was built, in the late 11th or
early 12th century, of earth with timber palisades for defence and a
one or two storey wooden dwelling. It was probably built by either Martin de
Tours, the first lord of Parracombe, William de Falaise (who married Martin’s
widow) or Robert FitzMartin, although there are no written records to validate
this. The earthworks of the castle are still clearly visible from a nearby
footpath, but there is no public access to them. During the Middle Ages, sheep
farming for the wool trade came to dominate the economy. The wool was spun into
thread on isolated farms and collected by merchants to be woven, fulled, dyed
and finished in thriving towns such as Dunster. The land started to be enclosed
and from the 17th century onwards larger estates developed, leading
to establishment of areas of large regular shaped fields. During the 16th
and 17th centuries the commons were overstocked with agisted
livestock, from farmers outside the immediate area who were charged for the
privilege. This led to disputes about the number of animals allowed and the enclosure
of land. During this period a Royal Forest and hunting ground was established,
administered by a warden, so that king Charles I could benefit from the fines
and rents.
In the mid-17th century John Boevey
was the warden. He built a house at Simonsbath, and for 150 years it was the
only house in the forest. The Royal Forest was sold off in 1818. The Simonsbath
House was bought along with the accompanying farm by John Knight for the sum of
£50,000. Knight set about converting the Royal Forest into agricultural
land. He and his family built most of the large farms in the central section of
the moor, and built 22 miles (35 km) of metalled access roads to Simonsbath. He
built a 29-mile (47 km) wall around his estate, much of which still survives.
In the mid-19th century a mine was
developed alongside the River Barle. The mine was originally called Wheal
Maria, then changed to Wheal Eliza. It was a copper mine from 1845-54 and then
an iron mine until 1857, although the first mining activity on the site may be
from 1552 At Simonsbath, a restored Victorian water-powered sawmill, which was
damaged in the floods of 1992, has now been purchased by the National Park and
returned to working order; it is now used to make the footpath signs, gates,
stiles, and bridges for various sites in the park
Exmoor is an upland of sedimentary rocks
classified as gritstones, sandstones, slate, shale and limestone, siltstones,
and mudstones depending on the particle size. They are largely from the Devonian
and early Carboniferous periods (the name Devonian comes from Devon, as rocks
of that age were first studied and described here). As this area of Britain was not subject to glaciation, the plateau remains as a remarkably old landform. Quartz
and iron mineralisation can be detected in outcrops and subsoil. The Glenthorne
area demonstrates the Trentishoe Formation of the Hangman Sandstone Group. The
Hangman Sandstone represents the Middle Devonian sequence of North Devon and Somerset. These unusual freshwater deposits in the Hangman Grits, were mainly formed in
desert conditions. The underlying rocks are covered by moors and supported by
wet, acid soil. The highest point on Exmoor is Dunkery Beacon; at 1,704 feet (519
m) it is also the highest point in Somerset.
Exmoor has 34 miles (55 km) of coastline,
including the highest cliffs in England, which reach a height of 1,350 feet (411
m) at Culbone Hill. However, the crest of this coastal ridge of hills is more
than a mile (1.6 km) from the sea. If a cliff is defined as having a slope
greater than 60 degrees, the highest cliff on mainland Britain is Great Hangman near Combe Martin at 1,043 feet (318 m) high, with a cliff face of
800 feet (244 m). Its sister cliff is the 716 feet (218 m) Little Hangman,
which marks the edge of Exmoor.
Exmoor’s woodlands sometimes reach the
shoreline, especially between Porlock and The Foreland, where they form
the single longest stretch of coastal woodland in England and Wales. The Exmoor Coastal Heaths have been recognised as a Site of Special Scientific
Interest due to the diversity of plant species present.
The scenery of rocky headlands, ravines,
waterfalls and towering cliffs gained the Exmoor coast recognition as a Heritage
Coast in 1991. With its huge waterfalls and caves, this dramatic coastline has
become an adventure playground for both climbers and for explorers. The cliffs
provide one of the longest and most isolated seacliff traverses in the UK. The South West Coast Path, at 630 miles (1,014 km) the longest National Trail in England and Wales, starts at Minehead and runs along all of Exmoor’s coast. There are small harbours
at Lynmouth, Porlock Weir, and Combe Martin. Once crucial to coastal trade, the
harbours are now primarily used for pleasure; individually owned sail boats and
non-commercial fishing boats are often found in the harbours
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