Images show how climate change could devastate UK beauty spots
‘We all need to change our behaviour and find ways to alleviate the pressures we’re putting on the environment,’ expert says
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Your support makes all the difference.Britons plan to make the most of their country’s holiday hotspots before global warming affects some of the UK’s most iconic outdoor beauty spots, according to a poll.
Durdle Door, Loch Ness and Lake Windermere in the Lake District are among the top destinations adults want to visit before they are decimated by climate change, it is claimed.
Sherwood Forest, St Austell and Snowdon also ranked highly.
The survey of 2,000 adults found nearly seven in 10 were worried about how global heating will affect the UK. It emerged 44 per cent were willing to speed up their plans to visit UK landmarks before they are damaged by the warming climate.
However, 18 per cent think Britain’s areas of natural beauty are already being critically damaged.
The research was commissioned by Runners Need and Cotswold Outdoor. The brand teamed up with John Howell, an environmental management and biodiversity conservation expert, to raise awareness.
Mr Howell said: "We’re seeing an increase in extreme heatwaves, floods and other weather-induced events across the globe, and we've reached a point where we can no longer ignore the impacts our growing population is having on our planet.
“It’s not just scientists and environmentalists who are tuned in to these changes. As the research shows, the general public are alarmed by the situation – and rightly so.
“We all need to change our behaviour and find ways to alleviate the pressures we're putting on the environment.
“Many of the places we’re so proud of in the UK have already started to change drastically, and not in a good way, though the signs of this are not yet obvious without careful study.
"Luckily, it’s not too late: there’s still a lot we can do but we must all take a look at our behaviour and start implementing change."
Nearly one in four respondents (24 per cent) said they believed damage to Britain’s beauty spots will increase within the next decade, with 58 per cent worrying about what the state of the planet will be in 50 years.
One-third claimed they have noticed differences in places they have visited over the years due to the impact of climate change, while 47 per cent said they had witnessed environmental changes in their immediate surroundings too.
As a result of climate change, 36 per cent claimed to have restricted the distance they travel for holidays. Walking, hiking and camping emerged as the most popular outdoor activities Britons take part in, while many also enjoy running, road biking and wild swimming.
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