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

Email: [email protected]

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

Main Telephone: 01969 652300

Email: [email protected]

Family Wild Play Days

The Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme is inviting families to come along and join the fun at its free family ‘Wild Play Days’ being hosted on the recreation park in Morland and Jubilee Park in Kirkby Stephen.

The days are designed to allow all the family to drop in for an hour or stay all day and enjoy the free activities and no booking is required.

You can try your hand at building dens, create natural artworks, play outdoor games, try a bit of campfire cooking, balance on ‘slacklines’ or just chill out in hammocks. The day’s activities promise to keep every member of the family entertained.

Organisers at the Westmorland Dales Scheme together with partners ‘Stomping Ground’ who will be running activities on the day are inviting families to come along and join the fun at Morland and Kirkby Stephen.

Morland, Wednesday 31^st August on the Recreation Ground
Kirkby Stephen, Thursday 1^st September on Jubilee Park

Nicola Estill, Community Engagement Officer with the Westmorland Dales Scheme:

“These are fantastic days with plenty to keep the whole family entertained. It’s great to be able to offer these activities for free to families in the Westmorland Dales and they’re always really popular in the holidays.

“It all goes on at our Wild Play Days and we’d love to see you there so do pop in for an hour or two or come and spend the whole day with us.

“All you need are outdoor clothes suitable for outdoor play, hat, suntan lotion, snacks, drinks and a bit of lunch if you’re staying for the day.”

If you require further information please contact Nicola Estill: [email protected], phone 07814 305748 or visit the events section of the Westmorland Dales Scheme website>

View/Download poster (pdf)

Latest

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23 April 2024: The Helm, paths to summer adventures

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Leaders' Landscape Training: The Westmorland Dales: its natural and cultural heritage

The Westmorland Dales has been described as one of the best preserved prehistoric archaeological landscapes north of Salisbury Plain. The landscape has been hugely influenced by the way people have exploited and managed it for thousands of years. The walk will explore this, attempting to decipher the layers in the landscape.
Leaders' Landscape Training: Understanding Tranquillity

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Delve into the Westmorland Dales Landscape

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'Love Your Landscape' Grants

One of the ways we achieved this was by running a small grants scheme from 2020 - 2023 called 'Love Your Landscape'. It has enabled local communities and organisations to deliver their own projects to help us meet these aims.
The Sights and Sounds of the Singing Drumlin

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Kendal College Students Learn the Art of Drystone Walling

Students from Kendal College Agriculture Course took part in drystone walling training over six days under tuition from expert wallers Josh Shields, Stephen Lord and David Law in the heart of the Westmorland Dales near Ravenstonedale.
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The Singing Drumlin

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Westmorland Dales – Valued Places Survey

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