National Parks rides
The National Parks Tour series consists of motorcycle rides that aims to get riders visiting the various national parks across mainland Britain; the more advanced levels entail visiting parks in Ireland as well. Each award can be completed over a 12-month period, without needing to be incorporated in another certificate ride.
There are currently 15 National Parks, spread across England, Wales and Scotland; you can find details at www.nationalparks.uk/parks. The basic requirement is simple: visit all 15 parks to earn a National Parks Tour certificate. The visits must be completed over a 12 month period, there are no mileage or flag requirements.
How do you prove you visited? You just need to submit a photo of your bike showing it was at or in each park. This means a photo of your bike next to an official sign; most parks have a sign of some kind by the roadside at the boundary of the park - here's an example from Dartmoor:
There are often official visitor centres or park administration buildings - for example, Loch Lomond:
As you visit the parks, email your photos to verifications@ironbutt.co.uk; there's no need to wait until you've been to all of them, our verifier will keep track of which ones you've visited.
Somewhat surprisingly, there are no National Parks in Northern Ireland - however, there are seven National Parks in Ireland. In addition to the 15 British parks, if you also visit one of the Irish parks during the 12 month period you will earn the National Parks Silver certificate. And if you visit all seven Irish parks (a total of 22 parks) that's the National Parks Gold award.
Important: STAY SAFE! The roadside signs are wherever the park boundary happens to be, and it may not be possible to park safely. If in doubt, ride on and find a better location.
The certificate fee for these rides is £10
Important completion and certification of these rides will not satisfy the entry requirements for IBA membership.