[T]here will be a stall with a difference at Orton Market on Saturday 11th November – and it won’t be selling a thing! Instead it will be inviting market customers to enjoy poring over a detailed map of the Westmorland Dales and sharing their thoughts on the places and activities that are important to them.
This fun and informal information-gathering is all part of the Heritage Lottery funded Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership scheme, which brings together a range of projects which aim to conserve and cherish the unique landscape farmed by many of the stallholders who attend Orton Farmers Market.
David Evans and Nicola Estill will be there from the Westmorland Dales team, together with Verity Walker and Sarah Eley who are helping to develop interpretation proposals. Verity and Sarah have worked with communities all over the UK for projects like this one and are looking forward to meeting market customers on the day.
Verity said: “We are new to the area and it is already clear in the Westmorland Dales that there needs to be a very careful balance between the needs of local people and provision for visitors. Our work is less about increasing visitor numbers and more about encouraging appreciative and sustainable ways of enjoying the area for both local people and visitors which place a high value on this beautiful yet fragile landscape.
“To help us plan for this, we need to find out from local people which places and activities within the Westmorland Dales are important to them.”
The Westmorland Dales team would be grateful if readers could spread the word. If you run a history, church or other group, club or other association within the Westmorland Dales and would like to take part in the project please call David or Nicola on 01539 720788, or email [email protected]
