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

Back in 2018, before the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme had started, we undertook a survey asking people to mark on an online map the places they most valued in the Westmorland Dales. 

Well, five years on, with the Scheme nearing its end, we’re re-running the survey with support from Natural England. We’re really hoping that more people will be aware of the area, and that they’ll have a broader knowledge of the places and characteristics which makes it special.

The survey is live now so please do give it a go and tell us which places are important to you and why. Hopefully the survey’s a bit more user-friendly than the previous one; you’ll be able to enter more than one location. 

We gave an update on results to date at our Celebration Event on 7th September 2023 and you can get a snapshot online of the places other people have identified by clicking on the following link: WDLP VP Survey 2023 NEW WEB APP

There’s no problem in entering the same place as someone else. It helps to highlight those places which are most valued. Good luck and many thanks for your input.


We are aware that there may be some teething problems accessing the link and webpage, and submitting the data you’ve entered. We’re going to amend the instructions slightly but you may find it easier if you access it on a different device if you run into issues; it’s certainly easier on a larger screen. If you have any problems feel free to contact the Westmorland Dales team.

[email protected]