Top British beauty spots are at risk of damage from climate change, a study shows.
Snowdonia and the Lake District are said to face a long-term threat together with the Orkney Islands.
And proms at resorts such as Brighton, Bournemouth and Aberystwyth could be obscured by coastal defences.
It is feared weather changes will affect the distribution and behaviour of plants and animals.
Insects will thrive further north and fewer will be destroyed by winter cold, leading to increased insect damage to historic remains.
And climate change could force people to grow food in areas presently set aside for historical and cultural interest.
Isabel Cook, a PhD student who led the research at Sheffield University, said: “Imagine a UK where historic streets and promenades are obscured by defences built to protect homes from erosion and rising sea levels.
“Action is already being taken to protect historical monuments.
“But significant landscapes are going to be at risk too.”
And the study warns how historic woodland, parks and gardens, which characterise many important landscapes, are also likely to be affected by changing temperatures and invasive species.
This may affect the plants that can be grown in parks and gardens, and alter the ecosystem structure of ancient woodlands.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has warned people not to buy coastal properties as sea levels rise at record rates.
Scientists issued the stark warning days after millions of young people demanded an end to the fossil fuel era at protests around the globe.
As part of the study, a U.N.-backed panel of experts found that radical action may yet avert some of the worst possible outcomes of global warming.
But the study was clear that allowing carbon emissions to continue their upward path would upset the balance of the geophysical systems governing oceans and the frozen regions of the Earth so profoundly that nobody would escape untouched.
At the UN, the UK Government announced an international coalition, with countries ranging from Portugal to the Seychelles, to push for at least 30% of the global ocean to be in marine protected areas by 2030.
Ministers say the move helps sensitive species such as seahorses, turtles and corals to thrive, and can fight climate change by protecting key habitats for storing carbon such as mangrove forests and seagrass meadows.
