Latest News

• 
  Our 41st Annual General Meeting
  This year’s AGM will be held on Saturday 28 September 2024 at Addingham Memorial Hall. We will be offering a short business meeting with a chance for questions afterwards, a complimentary light lunch (donations welcome) and an afternoon guided walk offering the chance to review some of Addingham Environment Group’s conservation and biodiversity projects. All members of Friends … Read more
• 
  Stand Up for National Parks at the 2024 Election
  With the 2024 General Election just a matter of weeks away, it is critical that as many of us as possible use this opportunity to speak up for our National Parks.   Despite the National Parks of England and Wales celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, they are under threat like never before with chronic wildlife … Read more
• 
  Unsuitable Barn Conversions Halted
  Just imagine the landscapes of Upper Wharfedale and Swaledale with their hundreds of small, isolated field barns being transformed into houses… the whole landscape would be decimated with driveways, parking and connecting roads… In late 2023, we co-signed a letter from the national charity, Campaign for National Parks (CNP) to the Secretary of State for … Read more
• 
  Curlew Awareness Day
  In the last 25 years alone (1995-2020) the UK has lost nearly 50% of breeding curlew – with Wales, Northern Ireland and southern lowland England now having almost no breeding curlew left at all. Since the UK is home to about 25% of the entire population of Eurasian curlew, any decline threatens curlew globally, which … Read more
• 
  Call to MPs and Party Leaders
  With 2024 marking the 75th anniversary of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, along with the promise of Westminster election, Campaign for National Parks (CNP), backed by all the National Park Societies of England (of which Friends of the Dales is one), have written to all party leaders in England to … Read more

Our Work

Campaign

We have more than 40 years experience in taking direct action on issues of critical importance to the Dales. These include affordable housing, rural bus services, biodiversity, green lanes, pollution, farming, landscape conservation – plus many others!

Protect

We are advocates for the Dales, lobbying government and intervening where appropriate. We monitor significant planning applications and comment on many each year – supporting those we believe are right for the Dales. We also host events to raise awareness of issues, such as the pollution caused by using plastic tree guards and the degradation of our peatlands.

Enjoy

We run a variety of walks, digital talks and volunteer events throughout the year which are free for all to attend and a great way to meet others passionate about conservation issues. Getting out in to nature is also beneficial to mental health and wellbeing.

DalesBus

Sustainable transport is one of our aims for the Dales, which is why we set up DalesBus. Run by our social enterprise company Dales & Bowland CIC, volunteers organise, fundraise and publicise the services, with the buses run by bus companies or community providers. For timetables – see DalesBus

DalesBus runs on Sundays and bank holidays throughout the summer (with some in the winter) across the Yorkshire Dales, linking into bus and train services across the region. Perfect for enjoying the Dales in an environmentally friendly way!

Capturing the Past

Capturing the Past is the project we set up to train people and groups from across the Yorkshire Dales to catalogue and digitise their own local history archives. The current collection of more than 25 archives is freely available to the public through our dedicated Yorkshire Dales Community Archives website.

This project was initially funded through Stories in Stone, a programme of conservation and community projects concentrated in the Ingleborough area. The scheme was developed by the Ingleborough Dales Landscape Partnership and is supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. To discuss adding your archive to the site, visit Yorkshire Dales Community Archive.