Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership


The Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme finished in early 2024 with projects successfully delivered by a wide range of project partners, community groups and individuals. Over the coming months, we’ll be updating this site to highlight what’s been achieved, so please keep checking back.

Welcome …

… to the Westmorland Dales website.

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:

  • Reveal the area’s hidden heritage.
  • Conserve what makes the area special.
  • Engage people in enjoying and benefitting from their heritage.
  • Sustain the benefits of the scheme in the long-term.

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

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)

Contact information

Friends of the Lake District
Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 7SS
Main Telephone:  01539 720788
 Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
Yoredale, Bainbridge, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 3EL
Main Telephone:  01969 652300

Westmorland Dales Autumn Newsletter

Now that the team is fully in place and we have an established base at Tebay things are really beginning to happen on the ground. 

The new apprentice team, employed by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, has already made a very positive impression and has added some youthful energy to the core team, employed by Friends of the Lake District.


Pictured: Apprentices picking up drystone walling skills from Friends of the Lake District volunteers

Volunteers have been undertaking an archaeological field survey on Great Asby Scar, excavating a medieval lime kiln at Pendragon Castle and learning scything skills with Cumbria Wildlife Trust.  We’ve produced a film of an accessible walk at Smardale, have been out and about over the summer at local shows and been working with other partners on getting their projects underway.

In this issue:

  • Keeping up to Date 
  • Introducing our Amazing Apprentices
  • 300 potential sites identified during Great Asby Scar Survey
  • Geology Education Programme
  • Dementia Friendly Walks Leader Training
  • 'Valuing Nature' Conference
  • Conserving Species-Rich Grasslands
  • Smardale Gill Walk
  • Excavation at Pendragon Castle
  • Nature's Calendar
  • Our 21 Scheme Projects         

Read it here>

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