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

Smardale Gill Viaduct Re-Opens

Smardale Gill Viaduct stands 90 feet above Scandal Beck in the beautiful countryside of the Westmorland Dales just south of Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria. Surrounding the viaduct is the Smardale Nature Reserve run by Cumbria Wildlife Trust.  It is one of the last remaining homes to the red squirrel and a must-do for all visitors.

We were delighted to receive the news that 'no entry' signs and barriers have now been removed from the viaduct, restoring access across it. An award of £5,000 from our ‘Love Your Landscape’ grant scheme kicked off the Northern Viaduct Trust's (NVT) fundraising campaign to pay for new safety railings across the span of the viaduct. Their efforts have now resulted in access being reinstated and a much loved walking route restored.

On 11 December 2020 Dr Neil Hudson MP will be re-opening Smardale Gill Viaduct and unveiling a new interpretation panel that will explain the history of this marvellous monument of Victorian engineering.

The permissive path over the top of the iconic Smardale Gill Viaduct has been closed for a year due to necessary work to up-grade its hand-rails.  The work, identified during an inspection in 2019, is now complete and the viaduct is open for walkers.

You can read more about the history of the viaduct and its restoration on the NVT website at: www.edenviaducts.org.uk/smardale-gill-viaduct/

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