Guide · Planning Yorkshire Dales
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The Yorkshire Dales National Park was designated in 1954 and extended westward in 2016 to include the Howgill Fells and parts of the Eden Valley — land that had previously been the gap between the Dales and the Lake District. The total area is now approximately 2,179 square kilometres, making it the third largest national park in England and Wales.
It contains approximately 22,500 residents, over 200 villages and hamlets, and 1,900 farms. It receives approximately 12 million visitor days per year. And it is simultaneously a working agricultural landscape, a significant wildlife habitat and one of the finest examples of traditional pastoral farming in Britain.
A national park in Britain does not mean what it means in most other countries. There is no exclusion of residents, no restriction on economic activity and no nationalisation of the land — the majority of the land within the national park is in private ownership, mostly farms. What the designation does is:
In practice, this means that the Yorkshire Dales landscape has been largely protected from the suburban development, road improvement and agricultural intensification that has transformed comparable landscapes elsewhere in northern England.
The western Dales — Ribblesdale, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, the Three Peaks landscape. The most dramatic limestone scenery; Malham, Gordale Scar; the Settle–Carlisle railway.
The central Dales — Wharfedale, Wensleydale, Nidderdale. The most varied landscape; Bolton Abbey, Grassington, Aysgarth Falls, Wensleydale Creamery, James Herriot country.
The northern Dales — Swaledale, Arkengarthdale, Teesdale (partly in the park). The quietest and most traditional; hay meadows, field barns, lead mining heritage, Richmond.
The Howgill Fells — added to the park in 2016. Rounded, smooth-sided fells unlike the typical Dales limestone landscape; excellent walking, very few visitors. Best approached from Sedbergh.
The national park authority: The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority operates visitor centres at Grassington, Hawes and Reeth and manages a network of footpaths, car parks and interpretation across the park. The website (yorkshiredales.org.uk) has comprehensive visitor information.
Access land: Significant areas of the Yorkshire Dales are open access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, meaning that walkers can leave the footpath network and walk freely on the open moorland and fell. The access areas are mapped on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps and the Countryside Agency access land maps.
Farming: The landscape of the Dales is maintained by its farmers. The traditional hay meadows, field barns, dry stone walls and moorland management that give the Dales their character are the result of farming practices that are economically marginal without public subsidy. The agri-environment schemes that pay farmers to maintain traditional management are essential to the landscape.
The Yorkshire Dales are built from three main rock types. The Great Scar Limestone — grey, massively bedded carboniferous limestone — forms the lower valley sides, the limestone pavements and the karst scenery of Malham and Ingleborough. Above the limestone, the Yoredale series alternates bands of limestone, shale and sandstone, producing the characteristic stepped valley sides of Wensleydale and Swaledale. Above the Yoredale series, the Millstone Grit caps the highest ridges with dark, coarse sandstone — the rock that gives the South Pennines their dark, sombre character.
The Yorkshire Dales hold significant populations of species now rare elsewhere in England: curlew, lapwing and golden plover on the upland; barn owl and little owl on the valley floor; water vole in the becks; mountain hare on the high moorland. The unimproved hay meadows support an extraordinary botanical diversity. The limestone grasslands hold some of the finest orchid populations in northern England.
The Yorkshire Dales National Park can be explored on a bespoke tour from Windermere.
More from the Yorkshire Dales:
In 1954, and extended westward in 2016 to include the Howgill Fells and parts of the Eden Valley.
Approximately 2,179 square kilometres, making it the third largest national park in England and Wales.
Yes — national park designation in Britain doesn't nationalise land; the majority remains in private ownership, mostly farms.