The Lake District is the most inflated national park

In the Lakes it costs more than twice as much (105%) to buy a house than in wider Cumbria – £364,200 compared to £117,800.

The Lake District is the most inflated national park

The Lake District is the costliest national park in which to buy a house compared to the surrounding county in the whole of England and Wales.

In the Lakes it costs more than twice as much (105%) to buy a house than in wider Cumbria – £364,200 compared to £117,800.

The research, from Lloyds Bank, found that national parks are more expensive than their respective counties in 11 of 12 cases in England and Wales.

The only exception is Snowdonia, where it’s 3% cheaper than the county of Gwynedd in Wales at £180,100 versus £185,100.

Other areas with hefty premiums are New Forest, Hampshire (86%), the Peak District in Derbyshire (84%) and South Downs in Hampshire (64%).

Andrew Mason, mortgage products director,LloydsBank said: "Buying a home in one of the most beautiful spots in the country usually comes with a substantial price tag.

“New development is also very limited in these areas which can also be a contributing factor.

"With the difference between local earnings and property prices being so large, it can make it very challenging for those living and working in national parks to buy their own home."

In the past 10 years the area that’s seen the biggest house price increase is South Downs, Sussex (40%), followed by The Broads in Norfolk and Suffolk (23%).

The Yorkshire Dales is the only national park where prices have notably fallen in the past 10 years (-5%), while they have stayed roughly flat in Snowdonia.

Based on local earnings New Forest is statistically the least affordable national park, with an average price of £581,400, 15.2 the gross average annual earnings.