Snowdonia 'Most Famous National Park'

The centrepiece of Britain's 'most famous' National Park, Snowdon itself viewed from Plas y Brenin by Chris Jagan from the OM Gallery.

And the runner-up: Helvellyn in the Lake District by John 2 again from the OM gallery.

Lots of self congratulation in North Wales, where the Snowdonia National Park has topped the standings in  a recent survey to find out people's awareness of and opinions about National Parks in Britain.

It's the third exercise of its kind in the past 12 years to be commissioned by the Association of National Park Authorities and shows Snowdonia to be the  best known National Park in Britain, the Lake District comes a close second and the Peak takes the final step on the podium.

According to the survey by rmgClarity, of all people questioned:

• Snowdonia National Park is the most famous of all of Britain's National Parks (24%), the Lake District is in second place (22%), and the Peak District in third (14%).

• 96% of people in Wales have heard about National Parks compared with 86% in Scotland and 89% in England.

• In terms of importance, 95% respondents in Wales said that National Parks are important, compared to 90% in England and 83% in Scotland.

• 96% of respondents thought that every child should have a first-hand experience of a National Park as part of their education.

The Chief Executive of Snowdonia National Park Authority, Aneurin Phillips, comments:

"The results of this survey are very encouraging to us in Snowdonia. It highlights the importance of Snowdonia not only as a destination, but it also confirms how important it is to preserve the qualities that make Snowdonia such a special place."

Punching Above Its Weight

Interesting that from the perspective of visitor numbers, Snowdonia seems to be punching well above its weight - the Lake District is, according to the National Parks website, the most visited UK park with 15.8 million visitors per year, while Snowdonia manages just 4.27 million with the Yorkshire Dales at 9.5 million and the Peak District, 8.4 million visitors per year.

Interestingly, the amazing but more remote Cairngorms scores just 1.5 million visitors, while the Norfolk Broads is right up there with 7.2 million... Statistics eh.