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

Friends of the Dales (formerly known as the Yorkshire Dales Society,) is a registered charity. Please help us to keep the Dales special and vibrant for years to come!

Following government advice about coronavirus, our staff continue to work remotely. Contact Ann and Penny as normal on 01756 749400. or via the usual email addresses or contact form.

Sadly our events are cancelled until further notice. Please keep in touch via social media and our monthly enews.

We will be sending out the Summer Yorkshire Dales Review magazine in mid July. This mailing will also include information about renewing subscriptions and about the AGM in September.

Our best wishes to everyone at this very difficult time.

Click to sign up to our free monthly email newsletter full of topical stories about the Dales! The newsletter is GDPR compliant and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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. 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...

Yorkshire Dales Review - Spring 150th edition

We're delighted that our friends at Briggs Bros printers have now been able to print the special 150th edition of the membership magazine, and dispatch it on our behalf to all our members. Anyone can also download this bumper edition below as a PDF, to share onwards. If you are not currently a member please consider joining to add your support to our charitable work to protect the Dales.

Yorkshire Dales Review - Spring150th Ann[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [2.6 MB]

23 June 2020 - Objection to Planning Application at Langcliffe Quarry

We have submitted a detailed objection to an application to develop areas of the former Langcliffe Quarry due to the serious impact on the ecological, archaeological and cultural integrity of the Hoffmann Kiln and its surrounding area. You can read our full objection by downloading below. If you wish to make a comment on the application, visit the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority's Planning Portal, and enter the application code C/48/615 to view the plans and submit your own comment.

Photo shows our visit to the Hoffmann Kiln at Langcliffe Quarry during our AGM in 2018 (photo credit Ann Shadrake).

Objection from Friends of the Dales to C[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [274.9 KB]

8 June 2020 Tree Guards - A Growing Problem

Created by Laurence Parkin, this terrific "infographic" encapsulates our campaign for more trees in the Dales, but not more plastic! First published in the 150th anniversary edition of the Yorkshire Dales Review, the illustration can be downloaded (below) for sharing. The key messages are relevant to planting anywhere, not just in the Dales. With more treeplanting nationally mooted as part of the coronavirus pandemic "green recovery" we hope alternatives ways of planting trees can be explored, avoiding the use of single use plastic where possible.

Tree Guards Infographic - Yorkshire Dale[...]
JPG image [505.4 KB]

27 May 2020 - Objection to development at Hellifield Flashes

We've strongly objected to an application for development at the important wildlife and amenity site at Helllifield Flashes, and consider it entirely inappropriate for Craven District Council to be asked to make a decision on a new proposal before the barrister’s report (they commissioned) has been received and considered, and any restoration works (to previous works) satisfactorily carried out. See the plans, objections and comment yourself at the CDC planning portal here by entering the application number 2020/21553/OUT

Photo courtesy Save our Craven Countryside

Objection from Friends of the Dales to 2[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [253.0 KB]

30 April 2020 - Tracking Barn Conversions in the Dales

Download below a PDF of a presentation by our Trustee Nancy Stedman. Nancy is monitoring planning applications to convert barns in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Over recent years a change to planning policy has led to a big increase in applications to convert roadside barns to local occupancy homes or short term holiday lets. In her presentation Nancy explores the implications of this change in policy - are barns being conserved, and if so, is there more housing for local people? Due to the coronavirus situation, planned talks to local groups on this topic have been postponed - or are being held by video conferencing.

Presentation on barn conversions in the [...]
Adobe Acrobat document [8.2 MB]

22 April 2020

Plastic Tree Guard Collection Day

Before the coronavirus "lockdown" guidance was issued, we held a very successful day collecting plastic tree guards in a Dales woodland for onwards recycling. Read a short report by Trustee Mark Corner and woodland owner, plus more photos, below.

Plastic Tree Guards - Dales Collection D[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [936.4 KB]

19 March 2020 Dalesbus Services Update

Due to Corvid-19, the summer timetable will not be introduced until further notice.The winter timetable will continue to operate if at all possible. However, please check the current situation at Dalesbus or follow their Twitter account @Dalesbus BEFORE travelling.

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]

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.

We have cancelled all forthcoming events due to coronavirus.

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