Where history meets nature in the Yorkshire Dales
Sarah Whiteley, Senior Historic Environment Officer for the Yorkshire Dales National Park, explores the intersectionality of nature recovery and the historic environment
From rolling hills to striking waterfalls and unique limestone formations, the Yorkshire Dales are a special landscape shaped by human and natural activities. Dotted with distinctive drystone walls, field barns and charming towns and villages, the Dales comprise a variety of semi-natural habitats including patchwork farmland, moorland and meadows.
The Park is vital for many limestone-loving plants and the wildlife they support. Over a quarter of England’s upland hay meadows are found in the Dales, providing a home for nationally important populations of ground nesting birds like the black grouse, alongside rare orchids and other grassland species.
