The Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme ran from March 2019 to February 2024. Its vision was to unlock and reveal the hidden heritage of the Westmorland Dales, enabling more people to connect with, enjoy and benefit from this inspirational landscape.
Download the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme Summary Report for an overview of the Scheme's successes.
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The Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme aimed to unlock and reveal the hidden heritage of the Westmorland Dales, enabling more people to connect with, enjoy and benefit from this inspirational landscape. Specifically, its objectives were to:
This was achieved through a programme of projects developed and delivered through the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership, led by Friends of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, and mainly funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It ran over a five-year period from March 2019 to February 2024.
Here you can discover what makes the area so special, find out about the scheme’s projects, and view and download resources produced.
The Westmorland Dales is a beautiful area of Cumbria lying north of the Howgill Fells and within the north-west corner of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It stretches from Tebay in the south-west to Kirkby Stephen in the east and to Maulds Meaburn in the north-west. At its heart are the limestone fells above Orton and Asby, rich in natural and cultural heritage, and with magnificent views to the Pennines, the Howgills and the Lakeland fells. It drains into the Lune river catchment to the south and the Eden river catchment to the north. Relatively overlooked compared with its better-known neighbours, our projects have aimed to reveal its heritage for more to enjoy without detracting from its unique qualities. (Click on map for larger image)
Ten projects were delivered under the Cultural Heritage Scheme.
The Westmorland Dales is reputed to be one of the richest areas in prehistoric archaeology north of Salisbury Plain, but much of it has remained un-surveyed and under-recorded. Some of these projects started to redress this imbalance with surveys on Great Asby Scar and at Gamelands Stone Circle and excavations at Little Asby Common. Further surveys and excavations helped reveal the area’s heritage from medieval and post-medieval times, including surveys of traditional farm buildings, dry stone walls, small-scale heritage features, and excavations at Pendragon and Ravenstonedale.
Conservation projects tackled features in the farming landscape, limekilns at Smardale and undergrounding cables at Raisbeck. The final two projects were interpretive: oral history recordings from the commons and a celebration of how people have travelled through the area. The team’s cultural heritage officer took the lead on many of these projects, working closely with the YDNPA, which took the lead on others. Volunteers were critical to the way many of the projects were delivered.
An archaeological survey of the upland area between Orton and Great Asby, involving consultants Northern Archaeological Associates, volunteers and Lunesdale Archaeology Society, recording hundreds of features from prehistoric times to the 20th Century. Read more
A project on Little Asby Common stretching over two seasons involving Oxford Archaeology North and volunteers, which saw the excavation of keyhole trenches on different sites in the first year, and a focus on one longhouse site and a peat core sample from near Sunbiggin Tarn in the second year. Read more
Led by the YDNPA historic environment team, assisted by Eden Heritage, the project involved the digging of test pits by volunteers in the village of Ravenstonedale, giving an insight into the medieval and post-medieval development of the village. Read more
The project comprised the undergrounding of a significant length of overhead wires by Electricity North West; the associated creation of a small car park; and an archaeological survey of the stone circle by YDNPA and volunteers. Read more
A project with several parts, the principal one being a volunteer survey of drystone walls in Asby parish, led by David Johnson; the restoration of walls at Pendragon, Raisbeck and Asby; training; and hedge-planting and hedge-laying. Read more
A volunteer survey of traditional farm buildings, mainly but not exclusively barns, an important part of the area’s rich built heritage; and the conservation of two typical barns, one at Pendragon, the other at Raisbeck. Read more
A cultural heritage trainee led a survey of all the key settlements, engaging local volunteers to record features like churn stands, gate stoops, and date stones, which help to give the area its distinctive character. Read more
An oral history project engaged volunteers in recording the memories of local farming families of the commons and how they were farmed, resulting in an archive of recordings and an exhibition that has toured the area. Read more
The project, led by the YDNPA historic environment team, focussed on two local monuments. It saw the excavation of a sow kiln at Pendragon castle, dating back to when the castle was first built, and a major conservation project on the 19th Century limekilns at Smardale, stabilising the structure and removing it from the “At Risk” register. Read more
An interpretive project looking at the way people have travelled through and left their mark on the area from prehistoric times to the present day, with a series of website blogs, a pack of village heritage walks leaflets and posters. Read more