[T]he Westmorland Dales Hidden Landscapes Partnership is now 6 months into the development phase thanks to National Lottery players and a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This exciting project aims to unlock and reveal the hidden heritage of the Westmorland Dales, enabling more people to connect with, enjoy and benefit from this inspirational landscape. During this phase, a range of projects is being developed under the broad themes of archaeology, geology, natural environment, built heritage and local history, route ways, farming and tourism.
As part of the project, three Autumn Heritage Workshops are being held to enable people to discover more about vulnerable man-made historical features in the Westmorland Dales. The workshops have been designed to help people develop recording skills to carry out condition surveys of walls, traditional farm buildings and small scale historical features such as lime kilns, stone troughs, sheep folds, dew ponds and boundary markers.
The workshops are free to attend and are being held at the following venues:
- Traditional Farm Buildings Workshops take place on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September, 10:00 am- 4:00 pm at Ravenstonedale Community and Heritage Centre.
- Small Scale Features in the Landscape Workshop takes place on Sunday 1st October, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm at Maulds Meaburn Village Institute.
- Dry Stone Walls Workshop takes place on Sunday 22nd October, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm at Great Asby Village Hall.
Community Engagement Officer, Nicola Estill said: “You don’t need to be an expert to book on these workshops, just to have an interest and enthusiasm in the subject. These are early days and there will be plenty of other opportunities in the months and years to come. However, it would be great to have people’s input at this stage as it can help shape how each project develops.”
David Evans and Nicola Estill, the scheme’s development and community engagement officers will be attending the workshops together with officers from the Yorkshire Dales National Park and archaeologists leading the workshops.
If you would like to attend any of the workshops, then contact David or Nicola at Friends of the Lake District who are leading the project on behalf of the broader partnership, on 01539 720788 or at westmorlanddales@fld.org.uk. More information about the project is available at www.thewestmorlanddales.org.uk
