Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership scheme awarded a National Lottery grant of £2.27 million

The Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership Scheme has been awarded a National Lottery grant of £2.27 million it was announced today (Tuesday 7 January 2019). We're delighted to be a partner in this scheme and are looking forward to working together to help deliver this great project.

Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, 21 projects will be delivered by a partnership of organisations over a four year period. These will aim to reveal, conserve and celebrate the rich geology, wildlife, cultural heritage and spectacular limestone landscapes of the Westmorland Dales. The area lies to the north of the Howgill Fells in Cumbria.  It extends over 200 sq km from Maulds Meaburn in the north to Tebay in the south-west and Ravenstonedale in the south-east.

This remote and beautiful pastoral landscape has a unique mix of habitats and remarkably intact pattern of historical settlements and features. It boasts 79 Scheduled Monuments, 19 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and two National Nature Reserves. However, it has been largely 'hidden' for the last 70 years, tucked away between the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks.

The total value of the scheme is estimated at £3.45m, with £2.27m from HLF and £1.18m match funding in cash and volunteer time. The scheme will be delivered through a broad partnership of organisations working closely with communities in the area. Friends of the Lake District will continue to be the lead partner with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority as the accountable body.