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

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

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. We are thrilled that over 200 people have signed up to become Friends between June and the middle of December 2017 - 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 the 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.

Latest News...

27th April 2018 - FOTD submitted our response to the consultation on the Yorkshire Dales National Park Management Plan 2019-2024.
FOTD-YDNP MANAGEMENT PLAN-27-4-18.pdf
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11th April 2018. Jerry Perlman's obituary wriiten by Kate Ashbrook in The Guardian

4th April 2018. John Grogan, MP for Keighley, calls for updated plans and changes to National Park authorities to improve public access. See his comments here: CNP

29th March 2018. The Government announce £2 mln funding for restoration of historic farm buildings in 5 national Parks including YDNP. A great opportunity to keep some of our iconic field barns in use. See DEFRA

28th March 2018. Earlier this month (once the snow had gone!) a group led by Sheila Gordon met outside Skipton Castle to mark and celebrate the completion of a project to waymark the route of Lady Anne’s Way. There was a short address where sponsors and anyone who had helped in the project were thanked and this was followed by a very enjoyable five mile walk along part of the route (complete with new waymarks) before looping back to Skipton via the Leeds/Liverpool canal. Read more about the route and story behind Lady Anne's Way

27th March 2018. Article in the Craven Herald on the new season's DalesBus services. See Craven Herald

24th March 2018. We enjoyed a wonderful event on Saturday, led by Chris Grogan. In the morning Chris took the group on a fine walk from Austwick, incorporating part of the Dales High Way route - including a stop at Wash Dub (photo). In the afternoon Chris gave a fascinating talk about the creation, by Chris and her husband Tony, of the Dales High Way - a 90 mile route from Saltaire to Appleby. Many thanks to Chris and Tony and to everyone who joined us for the day. A grand day out indeed!

22nd March 2018. Nice article about Friends of the Dales in this month's Cumbria Magazine.
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21st March 2018. At the unveiling this morning at Settle station of a plaque in memory of Bill Mitchell who was an "Enthusiast and supporter of this line" (Settle to Carlisle). Bill, well known Dalesman and author, was a past President of the Yorkshire Dales Society.

19th March 2018. 'Why Don't We Just...' article by FOTD chair Mark Corner about 2nd homes in the Dales in this week's Big Issue North.

Big Issue North.pdf
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12th March 2018. Campaign for National Parks has published today 'National Parks for all: Making car-free travel easier', which sets out recommendations about how to improve the options for travelling to and around National Parks sustainably. We have contributed to the report and support its recommendations. See the summary and full report here: CNP

11th March 2018. We sadly inform members of the death of our trustee and friend Jerry Pearlman who passed away peacefully at home on Friday 9th March. His funeral was held on Sunday 11th March. Jerry was a founding member of the Yorkshire Dales Society, its solicitor, and a very active trustee. He had a particular interest in championing access to the countryside. We will publish an obituary in our next Yorkshire Dales Review. Our condolences go to his wife Bernice and family. Jerry will be sadly missed by us all.

9th March 2018. The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is now consulting on the draft Yorkshire Dales National Park Management Plan (2019-2024). This is a very important document that will shape our National Park in the short and medium term. We will be responding to the consultation. If members have comments, we would be happy to incorporate them in our response as appropriate. Alternatively, we would encourage members to respond directly. The plan and supporting documentation can be found here: YDNPA

8th March 2018. We were delighted to attend and speak at the Destination Dales Tourism Forum, held in Hawes today. Great to see the innovations happening within our tourism sector and network with many accomodation and attraction businesses, several already Business members of Friends of the Dales. Delighted that Corn Mill Tearoom and Bedale Tourist Information Centre became Business Members on the day. Welcome!

5th March 2018. Our letter to the Yorkshire Post expressing disappointment at Richmondshire District Council's rejection of the proposal to progress further consideration of the 2nd homes tax matter. See Yorkshire Post

5th March 2018. Interesting article 'The wheels of the bus of social justice' by Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley on CNP's blog in which she argues that accessible public transport in the Dales is a matter of social justice. See CNP

27th February 2018. Very disappointing news that Richmondshire Council has voted against progressing the proposal to have discussions with government about the possibility of increasing council tax on 2nd homes as part of a set of initiatives to attract younger people to the National Park. See Richmondshire Today

Nice article in the 'Who do you think you are?' magazine about our Capturing the Past community digital archiving project.
CTP article- who do you think you are.pd[...]
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New 2017 Friends of the Dales leaflet

All about the Friends of the Dales, our charitable work to protect the Dales, and how you can help!

We have just secured a fantastic discount for members with Cotswold Outdoor and their associated companies Snow & Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need! When you become a Friend of the Dales and join as a member, you'll receive a special discount code to use across all four brands - instore or online (T&Cs apply). See Join or Renew online for more details of this great offer exclusive to members.

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. We have a fab wildflower walk in Muker on Sat 16 June, a pub walk on Friday 22 June with great food and scenery, and walk though Undiscovered Westmorlan near Orton on Sat 14 July - see event entries.

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

Alastair Humpreys

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