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 AuthorityYoredale, Bainbridge, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 3EL Main Telephone: 01969 652300 Email: [email protected] Home About the Scheme Partners Funders The WDLPS Team Projects Connecting Heritage Cultural Heritage Natural Heritage Resources News Archive Newsletter Archive Film and Sound Archive Westmorland Dales Map Geology and Fossil Educational Resources Heritage Talks Archive Geology Resources Poetry Archive Volunteering Opportunities Smardale Lime Kilns and Viaduct Restoration Works have started in Smardale, one of the hidden gems of the Westmorland Dales, to conserve two important structures. A contract is underway, led by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, to stabilise and conserve the industrial lime kilns, built to provide lime to the steel industry in Barrow and Darlington in the mid-19th Century. The work is being undertaken as part of the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme, grant funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Scaffolding has been erected and work is expected to be complete by September. At the same time a contract is in place, led by the Northern Viaduct Trust, to waterproof the deck of Smardale Gill Viaduct, vitally important to prevent the ingress of rainwater to the main structure below. Work should be completed by the end of July but the viaduct will be closed to public access for the next two months. The reserve can still be enjoyed, accessed from either Smardale or Newbiggin, linked by the permissive path on the east side of the beck. Manage Cookie Preferences