Recreation and Tourism - Dartmoor Fact sheet

7/29/2019 Recreation and Tourism - Dartmoor Fact sheet

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Recreat ion and Tourism

Dar t m oor Fact sheet

The 1949 National Parks and Access to theCountryside Actpaved the way for thecreation of National Parks in England andWales. Dartmoor - the largest open space insouthern England and containing a wealth ofant iquit ies - became a Nat ional Park in 1951.The 1995 Environment Actdefines thepurposes of such designation as:-

q to conserve and enhance the natural

beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage

of the National Parks;

q to promote opportunities for the

understanding and enjoyment of

the special qualities (of the Parks)

by the public.

The 1995 Act also places on the NationalPark Authorit ies a duty to seek t o f oster the

economic and social well-being of their localcommunit ies. All recreation and tour ismdevelopments have to be considered andmeasured up against their environmentaleffects and their impacton the localcommunity.

Dart moo r Nat io nal Park Aut hori ty Recreat ion and Tourism Factsheet M arch 2004 Page 1of 8

Swirling mists, grani te tors, wide open spaces,att ract ive towns and villages, deep bogs,ponies, a gr im-looking prison, SherlockHolmes - many images come t o mind whenthinking of Dartmoor. Today, the dist inct ivequalit ies of Dartmoor at t ract many millions ofday visit s each year. However, Dartmoor hasnot always been so popular. Two hundred

and fifty years ago it was regarded as a wild,savage and even uninterest ing p lace. An earlyt raveller on Dartmoor, the Rev J Swete, wrot eat the end of the 18th century that it wasa wild waste where the eye found not apoint to rest on. There was nothingpicturesque nor, though wild and rugged,was there anything romant ic. However, by1842 Samuel Rowe was describing Dartmooras a scene of unsurpassing loveliness.

By the beginning of the 20th

century visitingthe moor had become a popular pastime.Hotels and guest houses were buil t inChagford, Yelverton and elsewhere.From about the 1920s coach trips becameincreasingly popular and several locations,including Haytor, Dartmeet,Becky Fallsand LydfordGorge, becameestablisheddestinationpoints forvisitors.Since the1950s themotor car hasenabled manymore peopleto explorethe NationalPark.


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8.04

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

7.60

NumberofVisits

(millions)

1980

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

dateunreliable

8.10

7.177.51

7.457.628.729.0510.04

10.1711.06

11.28

11.4211.77

10.57

10.98

Dart moo r Nat ional Park Aut hori ty Recreat ion and Tourism Factsheet M arch 2004 Page 2of 8

Recreation and tourism play an im portantpart in th e l ife of t he N ational Parks ofEngland , Wa les and Scot land. Visitors helpthe rural econom y through their spendingand m any jobs are provided in a range ofservices. Visitors also help to m aint ain som eservices in m any Nat ional Park com m unit ies.Yet, recreation and to urism activities canbring p roblem s such as erosion an d t raff ic

cong estion. Therefo re, recreation and tou rismin the Nat ional Parks have to be m anaged t osustain the high quality of the n atural andcultural environment w hilst allow ing visitorsto enjoy and appreciate these qualities.

The Dartm oor Nat ional Park Auth ority helpsto prom ote sustainable use of t he Na tionalPark in a num ber of w ays:-

Ran ge r Service

The Rangers are the eyes and ears of theNat ional Park Authorit y. They t ry to ensurevisitors enjoyment and moni tor t he effectsof recreation on the landscape and the localcommunity. They deal wit h open access landand public rights of way and can use theappropriate laws and byelaws to supporttheir work.

Annual Number of Recreational Visits toDartm oor Nat ional Park 1980 - 1998

How many people v isi t Dartmoor Nat ionalPark e ach y ear?These figures are rough estimates basedon traffic counters placed on main roads.They show a trend rather than an accuratepicture. It is very diff icult t o know exact lywhat happens over Dartmoors 368 sq miles(953 sq km) for the 365 days of the year.

Information ServiceMuch eff ort is put int o researching andproviding a high standard of informationand interpretation f or all visitors. The morethe public understand and appreciate t hearea, the more likely they are to behave ina sensit ive way and t o support National Parkpurposes. An information network provides

the main basis of this service and includesInformation Centres, Village Informat ionPoints and signboards. This promot ion,in places, is carried out in partnership withlocal councils and t he community.

Information Centres (see middle pages) arecarefully located in and around t he Nat ionalPark. Four of these are operated by theNat ional Park Aut horit y. These sell a varietyof publications as well as answering manyenquir ies. The High Moorland Visit or Centre,

Princetown, opens all year round; the otherCentres are open f rom April to t he end ofOctober (minimum period).

There is an extensive guided w alksprogramme for those that want more localknow ledge and who may lack confidencewi th their own map reading. In 2002/3, theNational Park Authority organised 386 walks.These were attended by 2,995 walkers.

The Dartmoor Visitor, a f ree newspaper

produced by Dartmoor National Park Authorit y,provides the visitor w ith all the inf ormationthey need to know to enjoy their stay.

Visitor M anagementThis involves many aspects of National Parkwork. Planners, for example, help to controlany new tourism developments as well asmaking plans to cope wit h present and f uturerecreational pressures. Strategies for recreationand traff ic management help guide day to day

decisions and long term planning. A 40 mileper hour speed limit on moorland roads hasbeen imposed for t he safety of grazing livestockand ponies on Dartmoor and for the safety ofother road users as cyclists and horse riders.

Crucial work is carried out by talking w ithrecreational int erest groups such as theramblers or horseriders, or more specialistgroups such as the British Canoe Union or theSout h Devon Hang Gliding Club. In th is way

any possible conf licts can be sort ed out beforeproblems arise. Various codes of conduct /guidance for recreational activities have beenproduced by the National Park Authorit yand others.


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Dartm oor Nat io nal Park Aut hori ty Recreat ion and Tourism Factsheet M arch 2004 Page 3of 8

With this in mind, many people whenchoosing t heir holiday, look f or w ell

managed environments and businessesthat can demonstrate green credentialswhilst support ing local communit ies,wildlife and cultural heritage.

W hat is the Dartm oor Charter forSustainable Tourism?The Dartmoor Charter for Sustainable Tourism isa green tourism scheme, set up by the DartmoorNational Park Authority and developed withinthe framework of the European Charter forSustainable Tourism in Protected Areas.

The Charter acts as a good practice guidefor businesses with an interest in tourismand encourages them to make changesto certain aspects of their business.Examples of typical changes:

q buying locally produced food

q using environmentally friendly and recycled products

q encouraging t he wise use of energy and

wat er resources

q displaying public transport inf ormation

q composting kitchen waste

q promoting local festivals and eventsThe Dartmoor Charter for SustainableTourism is co-ordinated by Dartmoor NationalPark Authorit y on behalf of the DartmoorPartnership.

The D artm oor PartnershipThe Dartmoor Partnership was set up in 1998as a public/private sector forum for tourism.The Partnership provides a cross-boundarynetwork and co-ordinat ion funct ion fororganisations working towards the sustainabledevelopment of tourism across the Dartmoorarea. The Dartmoor Part nership is composedof public, private and charity organisations.

Dartm oor Charter forSustain ab le Tou rism

W hat is Sustaina ble Tourism ?

Sustainable tourism, in simple terms, is aboutmeeting the needs of visitors, the tourismindustry and communities, whilst safeguarding,conserving and enhancing t he special qualit iesof an area now and in the future.

Mi llions of people visit Dartmoor everyyear, att racted by the areas natural beauty,

wildlife, cultural heritage and tranquillity.Many visit because of Dartmoors status asa Nat ional Park.

Successful ly managing t he impacts of tourismwill help to maintain the special qualitiesof Dartmoor which people come to enjoy.Sustainable tourism w ill not only benefitthe environment , it w ill also encourageharmony with local communi t ies, and be apositive benefit to all of the businesses that

depend on Dartmoor as a tourism resource.

Both visitors and businesses are increasinglyaware of environmental good pract ice.

Different parts of Dartmoor are exposedto dif ferent visitor pressures. ConsiderableNational Park Authorit y eff ort and resourcesgo into managing heavily used sites and areas.It is important that the Authority maintainsthe visitor capacity of these areas withoutspoi ling their character. This is done throughcarefully designed physical works, such asriverside work, banking along roads and car

parks, building toilet blocks, waymarking publ icright s of way, and maintaining paths, etc.

In recent years the effect of increasing visitornumbers to Dartmoor has become evident.Scars developed across open moorland,riverbanks were crumbling and archaeologicalsit es were being damaged. The Nat ional ParkAuthori ty addressed these problems throughthe Moor Care Campaign. This approachprovides the basis for repairs to damagedareas, as well as promot ing appropriate

messages to users of Dartmoor in order to helpthem maximise their enjoyment and minimisetheir impact on the environment . Visitors arebeing encouraged to leave the car behind andtravel to Dartmoor by publ ic t ransport . Oncehere, they can explore the area by foot , bicycleor bus.


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W here do visi tors com e from a nd w here do they go ?

Dartmoor National Park Authori ty, DV 2004.


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Nat ional ParksOur National Parks include some of the mostremot e and dramat ic landscapes of EnglandWales and Scot land. They contain a mixtureof rich landscapes, including sweeping heathermoorlands, dramatic coastlines andbreathtaking upland areas.

Originally National Parks in England andWales were designated under the NationalParks and Access to the Count ryside Act,1949and wi ll soon be joined by the newdesignations of the New Forest and Sout hDowns. In Scot land Loch Lomond and t heTrossachs became part of the family in July2002 and were recently joined by theCairngorms in September 2003.

An important ro le for Nat ional Parks in t he Ukhas been the provision of open space forrecreation. The first National Parks weresituated so that urban populat ions f romnearby cit ies could get to t hem easily.

Da rtm oor is part o f a fa m ily of U K Nat ional Parks.


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0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Num

berof

Visitors

servicedaccommodation

flats &houses

holidaypark units

touringpitches

privatehouses

(DatafromT

ourism

Tren

ds

inDevon

1999

,2000&2002)

1998 2000 2002 1998 2000 2002 1998 2000 2002 1998 2000 2002 1998 2000 2002

282,0

00

268,3

00

256,2

00

83,8

00

99,5

00

97,7

00

104,1

00

112,5

00

114,5

00

201,1

00

202,3

00

201,9

00

216,9

00

220,50

0

216,5

00


W here do overnight visitors stay?

Som e Sta t istics

W hat d o visitors do?

(DatafromD

artmoor

Partners

hipVisitor

Survey

2002)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Percen

tage

25%

54.1

0

4.3

0

2.5

0 4.5

05.7

06.6

0

1.4

0

19 2

0.1

0

7.9

0

1.8

0

1.4

0

0.7

0

15.2

0

East

Anglia

GreaterLondon

London

Midlan

dsEast

MidlandsWest

Scotland

SouthCentral

Sou

thEast

SouthWest

Wales

GBUn

known

Channel

Islands

Fo

reign

NorthEast

NorthWest

W here do v isitors com e from ?

visitingattractions22.6%

sightseeing/historic

buil dings 47.4%

visiting t owns& villages55.2%

walking60.9%

lett erboxing 5.0%

fi shing 1.1% golf 1.6%

arts/craf ts 7.2%

relaxation44.8%

otheractivity21.5%

birdwatching 6.6%(Datafrom

Tourism

Tren

ds

inDevon

1999

,2000&200

2)

Illus

tra

tion

Marcus

Byron

Illustra

tion

Marcus

Byron


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Tot al visitor n um bers in

DN PA Info rmat ion Centres 1999 - 2003

Some Recent Trends

Dartm oor National Park Auth ority's HighM oorland Visitor Centre at Princetown openedin 1993. Some 165 - 170,000 visit s are made tothe Cent re each year. There is no ent ry charge.

N u m b e r o f V i si t o r s t o M a j o rFe e P a y i n g A t t r a c t i o n s 1 9 9 6 - 2 0 0 3

PLEASE NOTEMost of the previous figures show n in th is Fact Sheet are

based on Visitor Surveys carried out on peak days in themont hs of May, August and November. Several factorscan affect t he reliability o f these figu res including:

%o

frespon

ses

0

5

10

15

2025

30

35

%o

frespon

ses

%o

frespon

ses

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

05

1015

20253035

4045

50

stayedincar

inviewofcar

upto1mile

upto2miles

2-5miles

5-10miles

10+miles

2%

35%

34%

9%

15.7%

3%

1.3%

stayedincar

inviewofcar

upto1mile

upto2miles

2-5miles

5-10miles

10+miles

stayedincar

inviewofcar

upto1mile

upto2miles

2-5miles

5-10miles

10+miles

2

0.1%

26.5%

29.2%

6.25%

15.35

%

1.8%

0.8%

4.74% 1

2.58%

48.5%

0.9%

16.08%

12.42%

4.78%

1975 1985 1991

Visitor Activity

VisitorNumbers

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

250,000

300,0001996 1997 1998 2003

River Da rt

Country Park 41,300* 38,000* 37,000* 50,000

Buckfast Ab bey 440,000* 378,537* 363,016* 390,000

Castle D rogo 108,100 106,893 102,170 115,123

Lydford Gorge 78,753 70,280 66,916 72,274

estimated*

q most people do not reply to t he survey

q some questions may have been misunderstood

qa day of rain may affect the numbers of visitors andconsequently effect the validit y of the result s

q the number of vehicles count ed/surveyed are only a

proportion of the total number of visitors/volume of

through t raffic.


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For f urt her inf ormat ion, and a list o f o ther Fact Sheetsavailable, contact the:Education Service,Dartm oor National Park Authority,Parke, Bovey Tracey, New ton Abbot ,Devon TQ13 9JQTel: (01626) 832093E-mail: [email protected]

Website: w w w.dar tmoor-npa.gov.uk

This publication may be phot ocopied f or educational

purposes under t heCopyright Act 1988.

Useful web links for further informa tion:

Othe r f actsheets: Recreat ion Act ivi t ies

http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/dnp/factfile/homepage.html

Other informat ion:http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/moorcare

Othe r tourism w ebsites:

Dartmoor Tourism Associationhttp://www.discoverdartmoor.com

Devon County Council (Tourism)http://www.discoverdevon.co.uk

South West Tourismhttp://www.visitsouthwest.co.uk

Dartmoor

Na

tion

alPark

Au

thori

ty2004

531

.3/3/04/Re

crea

tionan

dTourism

factshee

t/mac

qOf the day tr ippers:

37% w ent f or a short stro ll

15% for a long walk (over 2hr s)

13% driving around sightseeing

11% relaxing

6% visiting a specific attraction

6% pursuing a special interest

5% taking part in an outdoor sport

qOf the ho l iday makers:

11% stayed in one place most of the time

41% drove around visiting places31% had a moderately act ive visit

3% pursuing a special interest

qActivities undertaken:

40% of all visitors visited an Information Centre

21% of day trippers and 57% of holiday makers

qSpecialist pur suits:6% went cycling or mountain biking 14% angling3% pony trekking or riding 10% bird watching2% running and 4% had been on a guided walk

qPlaces V isit ed Day Trip Holiday

Princetown 33% 49%

Widecombe-in

-the-Moor 19% 53%Dartmeet 17% 33%

Becky Falls 7% 23%

River Dart

Country Park 6% 20%

Bellever Forest 6% 12

Cast le Drogo 5% 10%

Lydford Gorge 6% 9%

Canonteign

Falls 4% 9%

Lust leigh 4% 9%

Fernworthy 6% 6%

Miniature

Pony Cent re 2% 3%

Okehampton

Cast le 2% 2%

Finch Foundry

Museum 1% 1%

None of these 45% 11%

* PLEASE NO TEThe consultants have used the d ata to estimat e the annual n umber ofvisito r days spent i n each National Park. For Dartmoo r th e figu re is

calculated at 3.8 millio n. For comparison w ith any f utu re surveys

und ertaken on th e same basis th is fi gur e has a baseline value. How ever,this fig ure should no t b e relied up on as an accurate assessment of tot al

visits. On Dartmoor, only 4 cordon poin ts were used and t hese were

located well inside the National Park bound ary. Direct comparison wit hthe lo ng-runn ing series of recreation visit figu res produ ced locally is not

possible. The local fig ures (producing a to tal of 11.2 million for 1994)were b ased up on a very much mo re comprehensive exercise w ith 29cordon poi nts, wint er as well a summer surveys, and annual u pdatin g

using Aut omat ic Traff ic Coun ter dat a. The base survey was, how ever, in1971 and the split between recreation and non-recreation trip purposes

may have changed significantly since then.

Nationa l Park V isitor Survey 1994

The 1994 National Parks Visitor Survey was thef irst co-ordinated survey of visitors to each ofthe English and Welsh National Parks. Thesame survey methods were used in all theNat ional Parks to obtain comparable est imatesof the number and nature of recreat ional visits

and t he characterist ics and att it udes of visitorsacross the National Parks. The Survey wascommissioned by the Countryside Commission(now the Count ryside Agency) and theCount ryside Council for Wales, with t hesupport of the Nat ional Park Authorit ies,the Broads Authori ty and the New ForestCommit tee and other organisations.

Key findings for th e Dartm oor Nat ional Park(DNPA)*

qEstim ated tot al of visitor da ys: 3.8 mill ion89% ent ered with private motor vehicle from outside

8% with public transport 3% with residents

qAverage group size:

45% are groups of 2 people

group compositi on: 70% are f amilies

qType of visitor:

(surveyed in July and Aug ust d uring the school summer h olidays)

54% hol iday based 46% day t rips home based

qOrigin of holiday visitors: 620 total sample (54% )

Sout hwest 15% Sout heast 39% East Midlands 9%

N Ireland 1% West Midlands 7% North West 3%

East Anglia 4% North 2% Scotland 3% Wales 2%

qDay tr ip: 760 total sample (46% )

Plymouth 28% Teignbridge 16% Torbay 13%

Exeter 10% Sout h Hams 8% Mid Devon 3%

East Devon 7% West Devon 4% Cornw all 6%

Somerset 2% Dorset 1%

qType of accom mo dation used: Serviced 32%

Self-catering 56% (including 28% camping)

q Information used for visit:

55% of day trippers used informat ion to plan tri p77% o f holiday makers used information t o plan t rip

qReasons for visiting: (most people gave more than o ne reason)

97% were aware of being in a National Park

Scenery and landscape 65% Peace and quiet 34%Enjoyed previous visit 34% A specif ic att raction 19%

Easy to get to 16% Take part in an outdoor activity 19%

Never been before 12% Come every year 10%

Because it is a Nat ional Park 14%
mailto:[email protected]://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/learningabout/lab-factsheetshome.htmhttp://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/lookingafter/laf-landmanagement/laf-moorcare.htmhttp://www.discoverdartmoor.com/http://www.discoverdevon.co.uk/http://www.visitsouthwest.co.uk/http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/mailto:[email protected]://www.visitsouthwest.co.uk/http://www.discoverdevon.co.uk/http://www.discoverdartmoor.com/http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/lookingafter/laf-landmanagement/laf-moorcare.htmhttp://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/learningabout/lab-factsheetshome.htm

Recreation and Tourism - Dartmoor Fact sheet

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