We are the only membership charity campaigning for the protection and enjoyment of the Dales

Friends of the Dales is the brand name of the Yorkshire Dales Society, a registered charity. Please help us to keep the Dales special and vibrant for years to come!

Click to sign up to our regular email newsletter full of topical stories about the Dales!

Help the Dales - Become a Friend of the Dales today!

We really need your support to help keep the Dales special and vibrant for years to come. Our summer promotion in the Dalesman magazine has generated over 50 new members! a fantastic boost to our membership and the clout we have as a campaigning charity! Thank you to all our Friends for their support!

Please join us or donate to support our charitable work to protect the Dales - you can use our secure online payment - and you can Gift Aid your contibution too! Join us or Donate

Already a Friend - You can renew online!

Existing members of Friends of the Dales/Yorkshire Dales Society - you can now renew your subscriptions or make a donation online using our secure online payment - just go to Renew Online

Follow us - on facebook, twitter and instagram for fantastic photos of the Dales, and more.

Read about our campaigns and comments on major planning applications affecting the Dales.

Latest News...

January 2020 Ride2Stride Full Programme

We have four fantastic day walks in the Ride2Stride walking festival this year, see our events page for full info (and of our other events this spring) and download the full Ride2Stride programme of walks and music!

Ride2Stride Programme 2020.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [5.0 MB]

October 2019. Dalesbus Winter Timetable

The new winter timetable for the bus services provided by our Social Enterprise Dalesbus is now available below.

Donations are always welcome to fund the costs of running these services – please email Ann for more details – ann.shadrake@friendsofthedales.org.uk

Dalesbus Winter Timetable
Dalesbus Winter Timetable Oct 2019.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [4.6 MB]

August 2019. Our updated membership leaflet is now available and we are working to distribute copies throughout the Dales and further afield. Please do get in touch if you would like some copies to put out in your local area.

Friends of the Dales Recruitment Leaflet[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [5.7 MB]

July 2019. Julian Glover, leading the Designated Landscapes Review, has issued his interim findings in the letter below, with the final report expected in the autumn. Lots of positives, though not so much focus on the social and economic challenges facing areas like the Dales.

landscapes-review-interim-findings-july2[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [297.9 KB]

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

To celebrate 70 years of National Parks and the Access to the Countryside our subsidiary DalesBus is marking the anniversary by operating several new and improved Sunday and Bank Holiday bus services. See the details in the press release:

PRESS RELEASE - Summer DalesBus 2019 v1[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [144.3 KB]

1 April 2019. See our press release in support of keeping Clapham Primary School open.
Friends of the Dales joins campaign to s[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [830.1 KB]

Press coverage from the Craven Herald

For earlier news see

News Archive 2018 and News Archive 2017

Our charitable work

Campaign

We have a good track record - for over 35 years - in campaigning on issues of crucial importance to the Dales. These include affordable housing, rural bus services, biodiversity, green lanes, Dales farming and landscape conservation - plus many others!

Learn more

Protect

We keep a watching brief on what is happening in the Dales, lobby government and intervene where we believe appropriate. For example, we monitor significant planning applications in the Dales and comment on many each year - supporting those we believe are right for the Dales

Learn more

Enjoy

We run varied walks and talks throughout the year

Vibrant Communities - free guided visits to Dales towns and villages organised and led by local members

Dales Insights - afternoon talks and free shorter guided walks

Classic Countryside - free longer guided walks with an extra "something special"

Focus on the Dales - full day event on a topical Dales subject

Come and join us, most are free to all! See Upcoming Events

Learn more

Two of our Key Projects

DalesBus

DalesBus services run on Sundays and Bank Holidays through the summer (and some in the winter) across the Yorkshire Dales, llinking into bus and train services from across the region.

So you can enjoy the Dales in the most environmentally friendly way!

DalesBus is run by our social enterprise company the Dales & Bowland CIC. Volunteers organise, fundraise and publicise the services, but the buses themselves are run by bus companies or community providers. Full timetables - see DalesBus

Learn More

Capturing the Past

Capturing the Past is our fantastic three year project to work with people and groups in the Ingleborough Dales area to train them to catalogue and digitise their own local history archives and make these available to the public through a new website.

Our archive project is being funded through Stories in Stone, a four year programme of conservation and community projects concentrated on the Ingleborough area. The scheme has been developed by the Ingleborough Dales Landscape Partnership and is supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Yorkshire Dales Community Archives

Learn More

This website is operated by the Yorkshire Dales Society, a registered charity (Charity Number 515384) and a company limited by guarantee (Company Number 1822908).

Our Charitable Objects are 1) To promote for the benefit of the public, the conservation of the landscape, biodiversity and cultural heritage of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and adjacent areas, and the social and economic wellbeing of its local communities;and to encourage others to engage with,understand,enjoy and protect these areas, and 2) In pursuance of the above, to advance the education of the public.

Everyone is welcome at our events, members and non members - see Upcoming Events for more information.

There are many ways to Support our Charity and be a Friend of the Dales, to help keep the Dales special and vibrant for years to come.

Join us as a member

Make a donation

Leave a gift in your will

Help as a volunteer at our events

Our Business members are very valuable to us and we thank them all. For a list of all these businesses, or for more information on the benefits of business membership, click HERE

Bill Bryson, a supporter, says :

"There isn't a more glorious and beguiling landscape anywhere, or one more deserving of our support. It really is as simple as that"

Alastair Humphreys

Our Patron

says :

"it's more beautiful than you realise; the people are open and friendly and have time for you; your phone might not work which is a positive as you'll have more time - slow down and enjoy the silence".

Alastair’s quest for adventure began young. Aged 8, he completed the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge over 26 miles