A Hop Through the National Parks Quiz

Answer: Fifteen

South Downs encompasses an area whose geology includes greensands, clays and chalk. This range in rock types results in a landscape of forest, open heaths and rolling downs. It covers an area of over 1600 square kilometres with its western edge touching Winchester, spreading southeastwards to the famous cliffs of Beachy Head.

Answer: Ponies

The New Forest Pony is an indigenous horse breed that freely roams and grazes in The New Forest. PDAZ will also see other domestic and wild animals grazing and it is the grazing of these animals that keeps the New Forest landscape the way it is. The New Forest is so named because it was a 'new' forest in 1079 when William I declared it a royal forest for hunting. Two of his sons later died in the New Forest.
The New Forest is also a recent addition to the National Parks, being established as such in 2005.

Answer: Peak District

The Peak District was established in 1951, the first of ten such areas designated in the 1950s. Close to the cities of Sheffield and Manchester, this National Park is a very popular destination, with visitor numbers in excess of 20 million per year. It is traditionally split into two distinct regions based on the geology: the Dark Peak is mostly gritstone, with a corresponding landscape of moorland; the White Peak is mostly limestone, resulting in dry river valleys and lots of caves.

Answer: Blue John

The answer options (including the correct one) are all names of the caverns in and around Castleton in the heart of the Peak District.
The name Blue John comes from the french words 'bleu', for the purple-blue colour, and 'jeune', for the yellowy colour, which are the predominant colours of Blue John. Blue John souvenirs are popularly found in the gift shops in Castleton.

Answer: Skiing

While all these answers undoubtedly take place in and around Aviemore, it is famous for skiing in the winter.
The Cairngorms are a range of mountains in the Highlands of Scotland and the park is the largest of the National Parks. The Cairngorms contain many Munros, the highest being Ben Macdui at 1309m, which also happens to be the second highest mountain in the UK, after Ben Nevis.

Answer: A wall

Hadrian's Wall was built to keep the barbarians to the north out of Roman Empire territory in AD122, and extends from the east (Solway Firth) to the west (Wallsend on the River Tyne) of the UK.
Northumberland National Park covers the Cheviot Hills, rolling moorland and the southern part of the park encompasses a section of Hadrian's Wall. It also contains a reservoir not left by Hadrian, Kielder Water, which is surrounded by the largest artificial forest in Europe, Kielder Forest.

Answer: Lakes

The Lake District encompasses Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England as well as the many lakes that the park is named for, although the lakes tend to be called 'meres' or 'waters', and the mountains are known as 'fells'. The large number of lakes are no surprise when you realise the area is the wettest part of England, with a rainfall of over 100 inches per year in many locations.

Answer: Wensleydale

The dales are usually named after the river that flows through it, Wensleydale is one of the exceptions to the rule as the River Ure flows through.
One of the incorrect options, Swaledale, lends its name to a breed of sheep commonly found grazing in the area, in pastures separated with dry-stone walls.
The Yorkshire Dales consist of a series of valleys and hills, running roughly parallel to one another in an east-west direction.

Answer: train

The Snowdon Mountain Railway runs from Llanberis to a station just below the summit. Once there you can even get a cup of tea in the restaurant and shop for souvenirs!
Snowdonia contains a range of landscape, like many of the other National Parks, having mountains, coastline, forests, agricultural land and lakes - including the largest natural lake in Wales (Bala Lake). Also like the other National Parks, it has many people who live and work there, with a current population of over 26,000.

Answer: Broads and Pembrokeshire Coast

The Broads in Norfolk and Suffolk are a series of waterways through primarily flat terrain and the Pembrokeshire Coast is the coastline around much of Pembrokeshire in Wales encompassing cliffs, beaches and some hilly areas inland.
All the other parks left unvisited this time have significant hilly areas.