The Friends of the Dales 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on Saturday 27 September 2025 at Bolton Abbey Village Hall from 10:45am to 12:15pm. 👉 View the Annual Report and Accounts 2024–25 and member mailout here. Afternoon Programme: Talks & Panel Discussion As part of the charity’s new direction, we are hosting … Read more
Controversial proposals for a major leisure development on wetlands close to the Yorkshire Dales National Park boundary could have a devastating impact on important winter feeding grounds supporting large numbers of wading birds. Executive director of Friends of the Dales, Ann Shadrake finds hope in new legislation that will oblige planners to consider the special … Read more
A recent event in the Yorkshire Dales brought together 18 passionate young people aged 18–30, as part of the New Perspectives programme − a Heritage Lottery funded initiative run by Campaign for National Parks. This three-day residential in Malham, North Yorkshire, aimed to empower the next generation of national park leaders by focusing on leadership … Read more
An often-overlooked function of our small charity is its team of experienced (volunteer!) former planners and environmentalists who scrutinise all significant planning applications to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA). Each year it comments, supports or objects on more than forty applications noting alignment (or not) with the YDNPA’s published policies, in particular those … Read more
For several years we have been actively involving young people in our campaigning work, in particular through our Creative Campaigners group open to those aged 20-30, as we are aware that the future sustainability of the Yorkshire Dales will be shaped by the next generation. We are now seeking contributions for the summer 2025 issue … Read more
It’s a fact the UK’s 15 national parks have clearly delineated boundaries, yet the hinterlands of these landscapes need as much protection as the parks themselves, since nature and river catchments do not recognise arbitrary, manmade confines. Planning applications in such fringe areas, especially those on a significant scale, must therefore be reviewed with their … Read more
As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Park movement and 70th anniversary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, we reflect back on their origins. At the end of the Second World War, the Labour government set up committees to examine long-term land use and ‘nature preservation’ became part of the post-war reconstruction effort. … Read more
Question: When did ‘plantations of plastic’ become the accepted way to plant trees, improve wildlife corridors, bolster riverbanks and capture carbon? Answer: In 1979, when plastic tree guards became the widespread means of protecting sapling trees from being eaten by mammals such as deer, squirrels and voles. Prior to this time, nature decided which trees … Read more
Capturing the Past is the project we set up in 2014 to train people and groups from across the Yorkshire Dales to catalogue and digitise their own local history archives. Ten year on it now hosts 5,000 catalogue records from some 34 large collections and 19 individual contributions, accessible as downloadable photos, wills, parish records, … Read more
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