Almost 80 per cent of the North West's total land area is rural, dominated by agricultural landscapes.

Environmental Profile

With 29 of Natural England's countryside character areas in the region, the landscapes of the North West are diverse and distinctive.

The countryside ranges from the uplands fells and moors of Cumbria and the Pennines, to the rolling plains of Cheshire and West Lancashire, and the rural fringes of Greater Manchester, Merseyside and other industrial towns.

  • Top quality agricultural land (grades 1 and 2) covers seven per cent of the region.
  • 42 per cent is poor agricultural land (grades 4 and 5).
  • Less than 0.5 per cent has converted, or is converting to the production of organic food.
  • Climate varies from relatively warm and dry in the Cheshire Plain to cold and wet conditions in the uplands.
  • Average annual rainfall is less than 800 mm but in the uplands this rises to over 2500mm and in the Lake District to over 3000 mm.
  • There are over 1000 km of coastline including several major estuaries, sea ports and seaside resorts.
  • More than 80 per cent of the coast is designated for its wildlife importance.
  • There are 15 RAMSAR sites, which are wetlands of worldwide importance.   

Coastal habitats include extensive areas of dune, salt marsh, heath, grasslands and wetlands. Almost one third of England’s sand dunes are in the region, Sefton Coast dune complex being one of the largest in Europe. A Heritage Coast has been defined at St Bees in Cumbria. The quality of beaches and bathing waters is improving and 82% of beaches now comply with bathing water standards.

  • The region has 10,707 hectares of lakes and areas of open water.   

Upland and lowland river systems and canals are prominent landscape features.   The chemical and biological quality of rivers improved significantly between 1990 and 2000.

  • In 1995 79% of total river length was classified as good or fair, significantly lower than the average for England and Wales.   

National landscape designations dominate in the north of the region with 29% of the region designated as National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). By contrast, 18 per cent of the region is protected by Green Belt desigations around the metropolitan areas, reflecting the need to protect the countryside for different reasons.

The Lake District in Cumbria is England’s largest national park, and the region also contains part of the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District national parks. Three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty lie wholly or mainly in the region, the Solway Coast, Arnside and Silverdale and the Forest of Bowland, and a significant part of the North Pennines AONB straddles Cumbria’s eastern boundary.

Mountain, moor, improved grasslands, arable and horticultural make up the majority of the rural land in the region. Semi-natural ancient woodland accounts for 1.1 per cent of the area of the region, the largest expanse occurring in Cumbria. The region has:

  • 30 per cent of England’s commons;
  • 38 per cent of the lowland raised bogs in England, with extensive areas in the Solway Basin and the Cumbrian Fells and Dales;
  • 31 out of 37 UK Broad Biodiversity Action Plan habitats;
  • over 24,000 km of drystone walls;
  • over 20,000 hectares of land in the Countryside Stewardship scheme;
  • two Community Forests covering over 700 square miles - The Mersey Forest and Red Rose Forest;
  • extensive areas of urban fringe landscape around large Victorian industrial towns particularly in central and east Lancashire and in North Cheshire.   

Historic and cultural heritage surviving from prehistoric times to the industrial revolution contributes to the distinctiveness of the region. Many of the listed buildings, historic parks, archaeological and industrial heritage sites are in rural areas. Hadrian’s Wall is designated as a World Heritage Site.