Peak District National Park celebrates 63rd birthday (and its stunning views) with a Google Doodle

Google Doodle celebrates the 63rd anniversary of the Peak District National Park

Google's latest Doodle marks the 63rd anniversary of the Peak District's designation as Britain's first national park.

The colourful drawing is dominated by a sun rising behind one of the area's unusually shaped gritstone tors, the Salt Cellar, formed by wind, rain and frost erosion over many centuries - the sun replacing the second 'O' in the word Google. To the right of the scene depicting the area's rolling landscape, two distant walkers are beginning a climb.

The Peak District lies mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also reaches in to the counties of Cheshire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire, covering 555 square miles. It is usually divided into two distinct parts: the moorland plateau of the gritstone Dark Peak and the limestone White Peak.

In 1949 the government passed the National Parks Act, designed to preserve and enhance the beauty of the countryside, while also making it accessible to the public. This began with the creation of the Peak District National Park on 17 April 1951 and was swiftly followed by the Lake District, Snowdonia, Dartmoor, Pembrokeshire Coast, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor, Northumberland and Brecon Beacons National Parks by the end of the decade.

There are now 15 National Parks across Britain.