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 to the north of the Howgill Fells and located 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

Nature's Calendar

This autumn the Woodland Trust is promoting the idea of documenting ‘a year in the life of a tree’. 

It's asking members of the public to choose a tree that they pass regularly and to record the dates of all the seasonal changes that happen to that tree over the course of a year (or even better, several years!).

Is there a tree near your workplace or your home that you could record as an example to inspire people?

Choose your tree

Can you follow a year in the life of a tree for Nature’s Calendar too? It doesn’t have to be an oak tree. You can choose from lots of trees and shrubs, and you can start following the tree at any time of the year too. Simply choose a mature tree (not a sapling) and visit it regularly (ideally once a week). When you notice a seasonal event happen to your tree, don't forget to record the date on the Nature's Calendar website! 
https://naturescalendar.woodlandtrust.org.uk/

We're delighted that the Woodland Trust is also going to be delivering our Westmorland Dales Landscape Scheme project 'Reconnecting Woods, Trees and People'. It will be working to create new woodland and hedgerows, plant individual trees and restore existing treed habitats to increase the habitat connectivity and create a resilient landscape in the Westmorland Dales. You can read more about the project at this link

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