Welcome to the summer newsletter of the Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme, in what promises to be a defining year for us. Despite some ongoing challenges with Covid and the weather, there really is an enormous amount happening at the moment as we try to catch up on things that have been delayed.

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The last few months have flown by. It really was brilliant to be able to hold our Landscape Forum in Ravenstonedale back in April, the first since 2018, and to meet with such a range of partners, volunteers and local people. Thank you to everyone who contributed to such a successful day. There have been lots of other events and activities too, not least with a number of cultural heritage projects commencing including test pitting at Ravenstonedale, the dry stone wall survey at Asby, and our small-scale heritage features project at villages in the area, all engaging our enthusiastic volunteers. One notable achievement has been the completion of the undergrounding project at Gamelands Stone Circle thanks to Electricity North West. The overhead wires, which ran in close proximity, have now been undergrounded along the road to Raisbeck, greatly enhancing the setting of this ancient monument (pictured above).
 
And the volunteer opportunities keep coming, including a new project with the Lune Rivers Trust and, in September,  the second season of excavations at Little Asby Common. Events kick off with a series of activities to tie in with National Meadows Day with Cumbria Wildlife Trust in early July and continuing throughout the summer. So drop in at Bowber Head, or if you’re around at the end of July call in to see us at Westmorland Dales Day at Kirkby Stephen, when we’ll be joined by many of our partners, or at one of the other local shows in August. We’re given our webinars a bit of a break until the autumn but they’re still there on our website to enjoy and whet your appetite, together with our wildflower ID and other films.
 
So enjoy the summer, whatever the mix of waterproofs and sunscreen it entails.

David Evans, Scheme Manager
June 2022