World Tourism Blog

BRITAIN has a new national park, although even the most dedicated lover of the countryside could be forgiven for not having noticed its opening.

The South Downs National Park stretches from St Catherine’s Hill, near Winchester in Hampshire, to Beachy Head in East Sussex.

With an area of around 630 square miles, it is England’s third biggest national park behind the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales.

It was first proposed as a national park more than 60 years ago but only became one in April.

Around 110,000 people live there, making it, by far, Britain’s most populated park. The staff who run it reckon it receives almost 40million visitors a year.

The area is mostly chalkland and its main feature is the South Downs, which run the full length of the park.

National park status won’t make a huge difference to the area for the casual visitor. Life will go on much as before. This month saw the 31st South Downs Way Walk, which covered the 100 miles of the South Downs in nine days.

I went for more modest strolls, basing myself in Midhurst, arguably England’s prettiest town.
I stayed at the Angel Hotel, a 350-year-old former coaching inn which has been smartly refurbished as a modern hotel while keeping its historic charm. From there I caught the No1 bus to Pulborough, a large village that grew up around a Roman ford.

Having previously printed off directions from Google Maps, I walked six miles to join the South Downs Way at Amberley. The route between the villages is mostly by back lanes, which is where Google Maps proved a Godsend.

Not only do you get a map and directions, but key turning points are marked by photos - a good reason for all those Google camera cars that criss-crossed the country.

My original plan was to walk a 12-mile stretch of the South Downs Way east to Cocking.

Instead I became fascinated by Amberley, a picture postcard village of thatched cottages and an impressive 12th Century church. I enjoyed an afternoon strolling round the village before having cream tea at The Sportsman pub.

It was such a balmy evening that back in Midhurst I took the chance to eat outdoors, enjoying tapas washed down with glasses of Rioja at Faustinos wine bar.

But the real highlight of the South Downs Park is, naturally enough, the South Downs Way.

The best known bits are at the eastern end with the unspoilt Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, often used as a stand-in for the White Cliffs of Dover in film and TV shows, and Beachy Head with its uncanny allure for suicides.

But the prettiest parts, at least for me, are around Petersfield in the west and the Singleton and Cocking areas of West Sussex.

By TIM SPANTON

Scenic ... South Downs National Park.

A new interactive Google Earth map showing the impacts of a 4 °C warmer world was launched today by the Government, in partnership with the Met Office.

Pushing the barriers with Google Earth technology, the multi platform, interactive map highlights some of the changes that may occur if the global average temperature rises by 4 °C above the pre-industrial climate average.
 
The Google Earth layer lends a human face to climate science by featuring videos of climate scientists from the UK explaining the latest scientific research behind the climate impacts shown.
 
The map also includes videos of FCO and British Council climate change projects currently taking place around the world.
 
Launched by Foreign Office Minister, Henry Bellingham and Climate Change Minister, Greg Barker alongside Chief Government Scientist, Professor John Beddington, the map was developed using peer-reviewed science from the Met Office Hadley Centre and other leading impact scientists.
 
The UK Government is committed to keeping global temperatures as low as practical to avoid dangerous levels of climate change and is working to secure an ambitious global deal which achieves this. The Copenhagen Accord already commits countries to limiting average global temperature increases to 2 °C.
 
Foreign Office Minister, Henry Bellingham, said: “The threat from climate change has not gone away and this Government is committed to doing what it can to take action. We are committed to being the greenest Government ever. As the Foreign Secretary set out recently in his first major foreign policy speech, he is keen to engage with new audiences. This Google Earth map supports that commitment to tackling climate change and will hopefully communicate with a bigger audience globally about why the UK Government is being active in championing the transition to a low carbon economy.”
 
Greg Barker, Energy and Climate Change Minister said: “This map reinforces our determination to act against dangerous man-made climate change. We know the stakes are high and that’s why we want to help secure an ambitious global climate change deal.”
 
Ed Parsons from Google said: “This is a great example of the benefits of using the latest web technology to visualise scientific information and promote better understanding of the potential human impacts of climate change. Allowing scientists to talk about their research to the general public is a way to enable the public to fully understand how the process of scientific investigation works.”
 
Vicky Pope, Head of Climate Change Advice at the Met Office, said: “If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, global average temperatures could increase by 4 °C by the end of the century, and possibly as early as 2060. This new mapping onto Google Earth illustrates some of the potential impacts of such a rise. It uses the latest climate and impacts science to highlight the consequences of not reducing emissions.”

By Travelio

Google Earth - Climate Change