UK National Parks in 100 Seconds | National Geographic

[Music] What do the UK's national parks really look like? To see what these landscapes are made up of, let's go on a walk. Each second of the walk reveals one percent of our national parks and how they appear from above. Are you ready for the UK's national parks in 100 seconds?

The first 20 kinds of land are gone in a blink. Six seconds and six percent of our walk is through crops. Peat bogs are large stores of water and carbon and are home to special wetland wildlife. They cover 12% of our national parks.

In the next 14 seconds of our journey, we can get lost in the woods, and for half that time, we pass through coniferous forests. Most have been planted by people. We spend 15 seconds crossing natural and semi-natural grasslands, scarce in the UK. They have the potential to provide homes for a rich variety of plants and animals.

[Music] We explore heaths and moors for 22 seconds of our walk, stepping over heather, bilberry, cowberry, and crowberry plants. Look carefully; can you see a deer or a hare? Much of this land is managed for shooting birds through a combination of cutting, grazing, and burning. Large parts of our national parks are agricultural lands, supporting the peoples' livelihoods and cultures that maintain the landscape.

Our final 24 seconds is through pastures, which are mostly used for rearing cows and sheep. Our national parks were created to conserve and enhance their wildlife, beauty, heritage, and use, there for all of us to enjoy, care for, and benefit from.

So, reflecting on what they look like and the challenges we face, what could we do to make the most of our national parks? What do you think?