18th May 2019
We were delighted to receive a cheque today in Grassington on behalf of our DalesBus subsidiary from senior leaders of the Sikh community in Bradford. The Bradford Gurdwaras are very kindly supporting the launch of the DalesBus 74 Saturday service from Bradford to Grassington, which we hope will improve access to the National Park from the communities of urban Bradford, opening up the delights of the Dales to them. The support of Bradford Rotary in this important initiative is much appreciated. Details of the service can be found here: Bradford DalesBus
2 May 2019
News – Clapham primary school to stay open, thanks to local campaigners, who we were pleased to support. See Craven Herald
Christmas Gift Membership now available
Stuck for a Christmas gift idea? Why not give a Gift Membership – now also including special “upcycled” Dales notelet pack (featuring Dales scenes by local artist Frank Gordon) – whilst stocks last. Please mention that this is Christmas gift when you fill out the recipient details on the form so we can send the pack at the right time. Please note the last date for receiving Christmas orders is Monday 9 December 2019.
We can also provide packs for other celebrations – birthdays, retirements or anniversaries for example – just specify the occasion and date on the form.
30 March 2019
The Yorkshire Post is running a series of articles on the challenegs facing the Dales, with their Saturday edition focusing on the threat to community sustainability. Comments from Friends of the Dales are included. See Front Page
19 March 2019
We’ve joined forces with Campaign for National Parks to welcome the recommendation to planners to refuse the damaging proposals for a leisure village at Hellifield. Read our full response below
25 February 2019
Our current Chair, Mark Corner, is stepping down at the 2019 AGM in September after four very successful years. We are seeking a new person to fill this very important and rewarding role! Mark and other Trustees are very happy to work with a new person over the next few months leading up to our AGM. We are keen to bring in an active person who is passionate about the countryside, ideally the Dales, to work with our committed Trustees, volunteers and staff. You don’t need to be a current member of FOTD and you are welcome to contact us for an informal chat about what’s involved. If you or someone you know might be interested, check out the info downloads below.
9th February 2019
Many thanks to all who made today’s ‘Community Action in Addingham’ event such a success. Despite the threat of poor weather a good turnout enjoyed a fascinating walk around the village of Addingham, guided very ably by Don Barrett, author of Walks around Addingham. We saw members of the Addingham Environment Group in action working on litter picking and woodland maintenance. In the afternoon, Prof Rick Batterbee gave us a fascinating talk on ‘The big environmental issues: thinking globally, acting locally’ and decribed the impressive iniatiatives being taken in the village to encourage wildflower propagation, manage the becks, and to reduce the village’s carbon footprint. Thanks to Don, Rick, and Jonathan White for organising our grand day out in Addingham, a village well worth a visit.
4th February 2019
CPRE has issued an insightful analysis on the need to improve access to our National Parks. See the CPRE report, and particularly the link to the detailed maps. This has been covered in an interesting article in The Guardian including comments by our VP Colin Speakman. The article has generated some interesting letters in The Guardian.
16 January 2019. Our article in the Winter edition of the Yorkshire Dales Review on Barn Conversions in the National Park, which has generated some press coverage.
Farming reminiscences by Alan Lord
14 January 2019 Alan Lord, member of Friends of the Dales, sent us these fascinating memories of early life helping on the farm (first published in the Westmorland Gazette).