Walkers fear too many wind farms will be built in exceptionally beautiful areas of countryside, in particular parts of Yorkshire, the Ramblers Association has said.

It said ramblers will see a trebling in the number of large-scale wind farms in the countryside in the next three years.

In a response to the Department for Business's draft Renewable Energy Strategy, the association complained onshore wind farms would be erected at the expense of developing other renewables.

Its renewable energy campaigner Davie Black said new wind farms would be concentrated in exceptionally beautiful areas such as Northumberland, Yorkshire, Devon and around the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland.

He said: "The stop-and-start nature of the power produced by huge wind turbines will do little to replace fossil fuels driving climate change, while damaging the character of the countryside we are all trying to protect."

The Ramblers Association wants to see the Government improving energy conservation and energy efficiency, as well as backing every renewable technology at the UK's disposal - instead of focusing primarily on wind power.

For the UK to meet the 15% renewable energy target by 2020, the country will have to produce around 35% to 40% of its electricity from green sources - and it is expected the lion's share will be met by wind power.