Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership

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.

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

Email: [email protected]

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
Yoredale, Bainbridge, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 3EL

Main Telephone: 01969 652300

Email: [email protected]

All hands on deck in the Westmorland Dales

Volunteers are wanted to take part in Landscape conservation charity Friends of the Lake District’s latest mass volunteering event – Westmorland Dales Fell Care Day on Friday 21 October.

Helpers can get stuck into a whole host of practical conservation tasks based around Newbiggin-on-Lune, Kirby Stephen for which they will be rewarded in cake!

Kay Andrews, Landscape Engagement Officer said, “The Westmorland Dales has many hidden treasures from the incredible heritage and limestone pavements to spectacular fells, streams and rivers. But just like the more well-known and popular spots, it needs our help to keep it so special. So we’re inviting people of all ages and abilities, with a day to spare, to discover it for themselves whilst doing something really worthwhile for the Cumbrian landscape. We can’t guarantee the weather but we promise fresh air, fun, friends, feel-good factor and cake!”

Activities include dry stone walling, hedge planting, grassland ride maintenance, tree care and river habitat enhancement work, and scrub clearance, all starting from our base for the day at Newbiggin-on-Lune public hall.

The events and activities have been organised in partnership with the team at the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme based at Tebay; grant funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to enable more people to connect with, enjoy and benefit from the area’s inspirational landscape.

David Evans, Scheme manager said, “This is a fantastic opportunity to work with partners on some of the hidden gems within the Westmorland Dales, including the historic landscape around 16^th Century Gaythorne Hall and Smardale National Nature Reserve, with its railway heritage and stunning range of habitats.”

Booking is essential on a first-come, first-served basis. Activities run between 9:30am and 3pm.

For more information and to book click here or contact [email protected].

Westmorland Dales Fell Care Day 2022 is kindly sponsored by The North Face and EOCA, the European Outdoor Conservation Association.

About the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme

The partnership comprises Friends of the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Natural England, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Cumbria County Council, the Woodland Trust, Cumbria Geoconservation, Eden District Council, the Lunesdale Archaeological Society, the Farmer Network, Eden Rivers Trust, the CLA, the NFU, the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and Electricity North West.

Full details of the Scheme can be found within the Landscape Conservation Action Plan that was submitted as part of the application to National Lottery Heritage Fund which can be viewed on-line at: www.thewestmorlanddales.org.uk

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