Nidderdale AONB Visitor Guide 2020 V4.Qxp Layout 1 20/02/2020 10:07 Page 1

43148-Nidderdale AONB Visitor Guide 2020 V4.qxp_Layout 1 20/02/2020 10:07 Page 1

Caring for the countryside

Nidderdale AONB is truly an area of outstanding natural beauty. Please help us keep it that way. These simple steps make a big difference.

Follow the Countryside Code Leave gates and property as you find them, follow paths and signs, take your litter home Planning your visit and keep dogs under control. Buy local, stay local The tourist information centres in and Local people are a big part of what makes around the AONB are a great place to the AONB so unique. When you buy local start. goods, use local services and stay in local accommodation, you are helping to sustain Friendly and knowledgeable staff can help you our rural communities who help make the with everything from how to get here and local AONB special. transport, to top attractions and places to eat and drink. Don’t give pests and diseases an easy ride For a full list of tourist information centres, One of the main ways invasive non-native visit our website. species and wildlife diseases spread is by hitching a ride on people. Follow the Check- nidderdaleaonb.org.uk Clean-Dry protocol: check for and remove any mud or plant material, leaving them on site, and clean and dry items like your shoes as thoroughly as you can. © David Tolcher © Paul Skirrow © Janina Holubecki

Friends of Nidderdale AONB

We think Nidderdale AONB is a truly special place - a haven for those who love the outdoors and wildlife.

As a volunteer run charity, we are dedicated to ensuring this beautiful landscape remains special for generations to come. Through our Friends Get close of Nidderdale AONB Countryside Fund, we help fund local projects that celebrate, enhance to nature and improve this area of Yorkshire that we love so much. Walk through ancient woodlands Find out how you can get involved and donate to carpeted with bluebells and flower-rich support local projects at niddaonbfriends.org.uk hay meadows teaming with pollinators. Hear the resonating call of the curlew Registered charity no.: 1118228 across heather moorland. Spot an elusive otter basking on a river bank.

A visit to Nidderdale AONB is full of such moments. Home to some of the most precious habitats in the UK, many areas are so special they are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Here you can discover a diversity of rare plants and wildlife, from mountain pansies and water voles to lapwings and adders.

Step out of the everyday. Get close to an amazing array of wildlife. Recommendations for good places to spot local wildlife and free nature walk guides are available on our website.

nidderdaleaonb.org.uk © Kelvin Smith Brimham Rocks

nidderdaleaonb.org.uk Discover

Nidderdale AONB is a living, working landscape.

This 233 square miles of countryside is home to over 16,000 people. It is also home to important Get in touch habitats and wildlife, dark night skies, a rich Nidderdale AONB history, and a diverse landscape. These special The Old Workhouse features are the reason Nidderdale AONB is King Street designated as one of the UK’s protected Pateley Bridge landscapes. Harrogate HG3 5LE A dedicated AONB team works to protect and enhance this beautiful countryside and the T : 01423 712 950 qualities that make it so unique. Through E : [email protected] developing strong partnerships with local people W: nidderdaleaonb.org.uk and organisations, we undertake a wide range of projects to better understand, look after and : @NidderdaleAONB conserve the AONB. From restoring habitats and :: @NiddAONB protecting cultural sites, to supporting farmland conservation and promoting sustainable Supported by: development. InterGroup (tig). by The Designed & Printed in North Yorkshire © David Tolcher Find out how you can get involved at nidderdaleaonb.org.uk

© Paul Skirrow - © Paul A pocket guide to help you explore and discover © Paul Harris © Paul one of the UK’s finest landscapes. 43148-Nidderdale AONB Visitor Guide 2020 V4.qxp_Layout 1 20/02/2020 10:07 Page 2

Experience this special place

123 scheduled monuments, 564 listed buildings, 1 world heritage site, 4 historic parks and gardens, 4 dark sky discovery sites, 14 conservation areas Welcome to and 568 miles of public rights of way. Nidderdale Area There is a lot to see and do in Nidderdale AONB.

Stroll through picturesque villages, explore unique local of Outstanding attractions, and be awed by dramatic views by day and thousands of stars by night. Adventure awaits with plenty Natural Beauty of opportunities to take part in outdoor activities: walking, cycling, caving, climbing, fishing, bird watching and riding to name a few. Exceptional countryside in the heart of Yorkshire. Explore the map below and visit our website to discover what you can experience in this special place. Nidderdale AONB is a landscape full of contrasts and rich in wildlife. Exhilarating windswept Free guides for a wide range of walking trails and cycling moorlands and steep river valleys merge into routes are available on our website. gently rolling pastoral scenes, peaceful woodlands and tranquil expanses of water. nidderdaleaonb.org.uk

This is a beautiful landscape, protected for you. A place to escape from the everyday and get closer to nature. Come explore it, enjoy it and help conserve it.

nidderdaleaonb.org.uk

: @NidderdaleAONB :: @NiddAONB © Paul Skirrow © Paul Harris © Paul

OUR TOP 10 Explore Nidderdale AONB FAVOURITE Places to visit: © Paul Skirrow Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

1. JERVAULX ABBEY Main Towns

PATELEY BRIDGE © Jo Swiers

2. DRUID’S TEMPLE

Blessed with enviable good © Leanne Fox looks in the heart of the AONB, it was crowned 3. HACKFALL Britain’s Best Village High Street and one of The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Live. Don’t miss the hive of artisan workshops at The Old Workhouse, King © Joy Nightingale Street and the Nidderdale Museum. 4. SCAR HOUSE RESERVOIR

MASHAM

Boasting Yorkshire’s largest market square, Masham is on the north-eastern edge

of the AONB. Famed for © Paul Skirrow its family-run breweries, steam engines and annual Sheep Fair. 6. NIDDERDALE MUSEUM

ILKLEY

7. BRIMHAM ROCKS

A pretty Victorian spa town on the southern edge of the AONB, with the famous Cow and Calf © Jacky Banyard Rocks sitting proudly on the moor. A rock climbers’ 8. TOFT GATE LIME KILN paradise, with fine tearooms to refuel at.

9. COLDSTONES CUT MAP KEY

AONB Boundary © Creative Commons Moorland A historic market town on Woodland the southern edge of the © Paul Harris AONB with independent Reservoirs & Rivers Dark Sky Discovery Sites shops and cobbled streets. 10. WASHBURN VALLEY Grab an award-winning 10 Top 10 Places to Visit pork pie and hike to the Point of Wildlife Interest top of The Chevin. Washburn Valley Heritage Centre