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
Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
Yoredale, Bainbridge, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 3EL
Main Telephone:  01969 652300

Enjoy a free Aeolian Sound Experience and Heritage Celebration at Bowber Head Nature Reserve at Ravenstonedale; an installation of 20 sound sculptures on top of a Glacial Hill or Drumlin. 


This is a FREE event running from Friday 29th September to Sunday 1st October from 10am until 4pm each day so just turn up, take a walk and immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of Bowber Head Nature Reserve in Ravenstonedale, owned by Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

More information about this event and directions to the reserve>


This free installation of 20 sound sculptures and celebration event has been commissioned by the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme and created by Cumbrian artist Dan Fox, director of Sound Intervention based in Ulverston. 

Aeolian sound sculptures constantly evolve and change as the wind's movement and intensity varies over time, creating an immersive and ever-changing soundscape that is responsive to the natural environment and provides a magical, unique sensory experience for those who interact with it.

The event runs from Friday 29th September to Sunday 1st October from 10am until 4pm each day so just turn up, take a walk and immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of Bowber Head Nature Reserve, owned by Cumbria Wildlife Trust in Ravenstonedale. 

Park on the Common and take a stroll across the field, enjoy the Aeolian sound installations and take in Bowber Heads unique landscape. Enjoy the views from the Drumlin, see the river restoration work down below on the reserve (re wiggling the Scandal Beck) carried out by Eden Rivers Trust, and the geology of this area.

The Drumlin, like most of the glacial features in the Westmorland dales dates from the last glaciation. This was at its height about 22,000 years ago when northern England was covered in thick ice, which scoured the landscape and dumped glacial debris like Drumlins. From the top of the Drumlin there are far reaching views of the Westmorland Dales, the Howgill Fells and Pennines.

You’ll also have an opportunity to see a set of voiles created by local artist Jill Brown which will be displayed during the event celebrating the railway line and the area’s heritage. The railways transported butter, cheese and wool from farms like these across the area. 

The route to the Drumlin is slightly uneven and over a wet grassy field for about 500m. Wellies or boots will be required.  It is unfortunately not wheelchair/pushchair friendly but an all-terrain vehicle would work well if you have someone to open gates. Members of staff will also be on hand and it will be grass parking on the common.

More information about this event and directions to the reserve>