Joint Statement on the Historic Environment of National Parks UK
Purpose and context
This Joint Statement is a shared commitment to further the sustainable management of the historic environment in UK National Parks and make opportunities for all to understand, appreciate, enjoy, and engage creatively with it. Working together, we will conserve and enhance the cultural heritage of National Parks. We will promote the contribution that the historic environment makes to people’s lives and our National Park landscapes.
The UK’s National Parks are cultural landscapes, containing unparalleled evidence of human ingenuity, endeavour and creativity through millennia. The historic environment includes both tangible and intangible cultural heritage which people value as a reflection and expression of evolving human knowledge, beliefs and traditions. It is the cultural product of human interaction with the natural environment and is the evidence of past human activity.
Our Vision
- We recognise and champion the complex interplay of cultural and natural elements within our landscapes
- We will work collaboratively to ensure that the benefits and public goods provided by the historic environment in National Parks are fully realised.
- We will advocate for the value of the historic environment in support of integrated nature recovery and climate action, enabling people to understand their role in transitioning to a low carbon future.
- We will use our understanding of past human practices to enrich people’s lives and their environments, celebrating diversity, supporting wellbeing, fostering social connections, and promoting inquisitiveness and a sense of wonder in our National Park landscapes.
Through mutual support and co-ordinated programmes of work, the signatories will seek to achieve continuous improvement in these shared goals. It is an explicit intention that commitment to this Joint Statement will further the securing of appropriate resources to support this work.
National Park Authorities will:
- Ensure continued access to expertise in the understanding and management of the historic environment.
- Ensure that resources and procedures used to benefit the historic environment comply fully with appropriate professional standards.
- Ensure the role of historic environment staff or the equivalent resources will include the enhancement of public understanding of the historic environment.
- The furtherance of the sustainable management of the historic environment, and participation in appropriate interdisciplinary teams.
- Produce a regular summary of relevant work undertaken in each National Park as a measure of our shared objectives and impact.
Other signatories will: (subject to their particular roles and responsibilities)
- Assist the National Park Authorities in developing objectives, strategies and policies for the historic environment.
- Support National Park Authorities in the preparation of their bids for resources to pursue initiatives relevant to the historic environment.
- Endeavour, as consultees for relevant National Park plans, to ensure alignment between the interests of each National Park Authority.
- Seek to ensure that all activities to which they are party take full account of the range of National Park and historic environment interests, including wider cultural and creative industries, and provide for appropriate liaison with voluntary bodies.
- Develop and disseminate good practice in relation to the sustainable management of the historic environment.
- Promote historic environment elements in education, careers, access and interpretation programmes in National Parks
All signatories will:
- Work at a national level, across government and other partners, to champion the historic environment and maximise the impact of our work.
- Collaborate in research to further understanding, access and enjoyment of the historic environment.
- Develop and maintain accessible data relating to the historic environment.
- Explore ways to enhance the capacity of the National Park Authorities to secure better understanding, conservation, management and interpretation of the historic environment.
- Arrange for officers to meet periodically to discuss and to monitor the development and implementation of cooperative programmes and share best practice.
- Encourage staff to broaden their experience of National Park planning and management, supporting the secondment of staff between organisations in the furtherance of joint interests.
- Collaborate in the development and testing of schemes which further the sustainable and integrated management of the historic and natural environments.
Application
This Statement applies to all National Parks and the relevant agencies in England, Scotland and Wales and has effect from the date below. The Statement does not affect the statutory duties of the respective organisations and its implementation will reflect the individual circumstances of each organisation. The Statement will be reviewed every five years.
What if Middle-earth’s Rangers had more in common with National Park Rangers than we might think?
Of course, our National Park Rangers have a little less to worry about than Aragorn and his fellow Rangers.
But they do both know their landscapes well, protect the places they love and guide others to find their way.
Across the UK’s 15 National Parks, our Rangers are taking action every day. They may not be defending the Shire from the forces of darkness, but they certainly do an incredibly important job. 💚
#MiddleEarth #Rangers #NationalParksUK
15 National Parks. One shared challenge. Our climate is changing, and with it comes an increased risk of wildfire across our landscapes.
That’s why we’ve committed to taking action through our new Wildfire Management Position Statement. Together, the National Parks will work to support nature recovery to help manage wildfire risk, plan for and strengthen wildfire response and coordination, improve risk management and preparedness, and share clear, consistent public messaging.
But we can’t do it alone.
Communities, organisations, land managers and visitors all have a role to play in reducing wildfire risk. By working together, we can help protect our National Parks and prepare for a future where hotter, drier weather may increase the risk of wildfire.
Read the full statement by clicking on the link in our bio 🔗
Photos:
Slide 1 - Fighting the Glenmore wildfire, © Ed Smith. Slide 2 - Fighting the Glenmore wildfire, © Malcolm Smith. Slide 3 - View across Loch Morlich during Glenmore wildfire, July 2026, © Brenna Jessie. Slide 4 - Fighting the Glenmore wildfire, © Malcolm Smith. Slide 5 - View from the cab of a tractor aiding in fighting the wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park, CPNA. Slide 5 - Firefighting vehicles at the Glenmore wildfire, © Malcolm Smith.
#Wildfires #NationalParksUK
It’s not every day you get to see one of our National Parks in biscuit form on @britishbakeoff!
Last night, The Great British Bake Off contestant @itsdoctoryan created a beautiful biscuit mosaic inspired by the Broads National Park, perfectly capturing the view at St Benet’s Mill, Thurne.
And it wasn’t just a feast for the eyes as the mosaic was made using treacle and ginger, honey and lemon, cocoa and malted milk, and pistachio biscuits.
Two great things combined: a beautiful National Park view and delicious biscuits. What could be better than that? 💚
Photo: Channel 4
#GBBO #BakeOff #NorfolkBroads @broadsnationalpark
You’ve likely heard of one - but what does it actually do?
Our 15 Parks wouldn’t be able to function without the authorities working behind the scenes to keep them running.
And each authority relies on people. People within the community, volunteers, staff and members. People that run businesses, or partner as organisations. People that are skilled and knowledgeable in a variety of areas from wildlife to accessibility.
Our National Parks are full of people and action, and it’s the Authorities that bring them all together.
💚
#NationalParksUK #NationalParkAuthorities
The Yorkshire Dales has one of the highest concentrations of caves and caverns of any of our 15 National Parks - a whole landscape hiding beneath the ground.
Our National Parks don’t just protect and preserve the landscapes we see every day. They also help care for historic and unique places discovered by our ancestors, like Ingleborough Cave and Gaping Gill, both of which were shrouded in myth and legend until they were explored by Victorians in the 1800s.
There’s so much more to our National Parks than meets the eye and sometimes, quite literally beneath the surface 👀
#YorkshireDales #GapingGill #Ingleborough
A week on from National Parks UK’s Big Volunteer Weekend, we’re still celebrating the people who make a difference across our National Parks.
Last weekend, hundreds of people came together across all 15 National Parks to give their time, share their skills and support our landscapes.
But volunteering in our National Parks doesn’t happen just one weekend a year. All year round, volunteers play an incredible variety of roles – from leading guided walks and supporting education, to conservation, planting and caring for our landscapes.
Every volunteer makes a valuable contribution to protecting our natural and cultural heritage. We simply couldn’t do what we do without you. 💚
So, to all our volunteers: thank you for your time, energy, enthusiasm and everything you bring to our National Parks.
If you know someone who volunteers in a National Park, help us spread the thanks by sharing this post. 🌿
#Volunteers #NationalParks #NationalParksUK
Mae’r Bele yn un o famaliaid prinnaf Cymru, ond mae eu niferoedd yn tyfu yn raddol. Mae hynny’n newyddion da i’n coetiroedd ac i’r Parciau Cenedlaethol, sy’n darparu rhai o’r cynefinoedd pwysicaf ar gyfer bywyd gwyllt ledled Cymru a Phrydain.
Ym Mannau Brycheiniog, mae’r prosiect adfer wedi gosod blychau nythu yn y coed, ac mae gwaith monitro wedi nodi presenoldeb y Bele, gan gynnwys grwpiau teuluol. Mae’r ffilm arbennig hon yn dangos un ohonynt ar waith. 🐾
Mae’n atgof hyfryd o’r hyn sy’n bosibl pan ddaw coetiroedd iach a gwaith cadwraeth arbenigol at ei gilydd i roi’r gofod sydd ei angen ar rywogaethau prin i wella.
Pine Martens are one of Wales’ rarest mammals, but they’re slowly making a comeback. That’s good news for our woodlands, and for National Parks, which provide some of the most important habitats for wildlife across Wales and Britain.
In Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons), the recovery project has installed treetop den boxes, with monitoring identifying pine martens, including family groups. This special footage shows one in action. 🐾
It’s a lovely reminder of what can happen when healthy woodlands and specialist conservation work come together to give rare species the space they need to recover.
#BreconBeacons #BannauBrycheiniog #PineMartins #Wales
It’s the Autumn Equinox 🍂
Our National Parks are always changing in time with the rhythm of nature, but this becomes particularly noticeable when autumn arrives.
Deer begin to rut, spiders’ cobwebs glisten in the fresh light, fungi become more prominent, and leaves begin to change colour.
What changes have you noticed so far? 🧡
#Autumn #AutumnEquinox #NationalParks
