The National Association for
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is a designated exceptional landscape whose distinctive character and natural beauty are precious enough to be safeguarded in the national interest. AONBs are protected and enhanced for nature, people, business and culture.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland has 46 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, covering 18% of the countryside, over a fifth of the English coast, and including 12,000 miles of footpaths and bridleways.
...supporting the UK’s 46 AONBs to value and secure the natural beauty of the countryside
The NAAONB is a charity with three primary objectives:
1. to promote the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty in and around AONBs and other similarly protected areas;
2. to advance the education, understanding and appreciation of the conservation and enhancement of the countryside; and
3. to promote the efficiency and effectiveness of organisations promoting or representing Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
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Find an AONB near you
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have some of the UK’s best countryside for walking, cycling, horseriding and wildlife-watching. But there’s also great caving, canoeing, sailing and fishing to be found too. In fact, if you can do it outdoors, you can probably do it in the outstanding landscapes of our AONBs.
AONB Nature Recovery Solutions
AONBs across England and Wales are working hard to help nature recovery – here we present 70 examples of our work, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of AONBs. These achievements are the combined effort of thousands of farmers, landowners, conservation charities and volunteers, as well as the AONB teams themselves.
NAAONB Publications
Click here for an extensive downloadable library of information about the value of AONBSs, land management schemes and the economic contributions of protected landscapes. Read our latest and archived Annual Reports, newsletters, press releases, consultation responses, position statements and technical documents.
L4L Conference 2021
Unfortunately, The Landscapes for Life Conference 2020 was cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Please watch this space for news on our plans for the L4L Conference 2021.
Latest NAAONB News
A lot goes on at the NAAONB, from organising events and publications to keep AONB staff informed of the latest developments relevant to their scope of operations, to representing the concerns and observations of AONB staff at a governmental level. Click here to find out the latest information from the NAAONB.
Meet the Team
The NAAONB Team is headed up by Chairman Philip Hygate at Trustee level, and Chief Executive Howard Davies at an operational level. The charity has a small but enthusiastic and energetic homeworking team of staff and contractors who together bring many years' experience of working with outstanding landscapes.