Nidderdale National Landscape covers a significant portion of North Yorkshire, including areas around Pateley Bridge, Masham, and Ripon. To check if an area falls within the National Landscape boundary, you can use our National Landscape Map.

Our events are open to all and are suitable for various groups. You can see all our activities and find details on how to join by checking the descriptions on each event. Events Page

With 820km of footpaths and bridleways, Nidderdale National Landscape offers such a variety of walking options. Whether you’re up for a long-distance trek across the Yorkshire Dales or a shorter, family-friendly route, there’s something for everyone.

Visit Explore to find the perfect trail for your day out!

Rights of Way are looked after by North Yorkshire Council. If you have seen a problem on a footpath or bridleway please contact North Yorkshire Council Rights of Way Team through their website.

Yes, we welcome volunteers and those interested in work experience. Please contact us to find out about current opportunities to get involved with the Team.

A digital version of the current National Landscape Management Plan can be found in our resource library. Here, you will also find more detailed documents about the Nidderdale National Landscape Partnership and our work.

The Nidderdale National Landscape Team provides advice directly to North Yorkshire Council, primarily concerning landscape and visual impacts. If you wish to discuss a planning application affecting the Nidderdale National Landscape, for example, because you are concerned about its impact, please contact North Yorkshire Council directly. It is possible to view and comment on planning applications through their website.

If you are making a planning application, you will need to first contact the North Yorkshire Council, who will then consult the Nidderdale National Landscape Team if necessary.

You can contact us for pre-application advice to understand potential issues and opportunities before submitting your formal application to North Yorkshire Council. Prior to making contact, please have a look at our planning information.  This provides links to key documents, sets out key principles and explains the scale and nature of developments for which the National Landscape is likely to be consulted.

A National Landscape is one of 46 areas within England, Wales and Northern Ireland safeguarded in the national interest for its distinctive character and beauty. The legal designation is ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’.

The legal purpose is ‘to conserve and enhance the beauty of the area’. In reality these places are living communities, they feed the nation, protect nature and climate and provide opportunities for the whole nation to make memories with loved ones, and breathe!

No. National Landscapes own no land themselves. They work with their partners (farmers, landowners, district and parish councils, organisations like National Trust) to coordinate work across the whole area.

The area itself is an area on a map. The Nidderdale National Landscapes team works with partners to coordinate conservation and enhancement of the area on behalf of North Yorkshire Council, with whom legal responsibility sits. The team’s work is governed by the Joint Advisory Committee.

On behalf the Local Authority in which Nidderdale National Landscape sits (now North Yorkshire Council, previously Harrogate Borough Council), the Nidderdale National Landscape team carries out a consultation every 5 years. Anyone can input into this, stating what they think should be prioritised. The team then prepares a Management Plan to guide their work for the next 5 years. We are currently working on our Management Plan 2025-2030.

Find out a little bit more and then come and have a look around! Nidderdale National Landscape is a beautiful, living place so you don’t book or pay on any gate. You can come and enjoy a cup of tea in a cafe, go for a walk, birdwatch, bring a picnic, stay in a hotel or B&B. Come and explore!

The work National Landscapes teams do is important. Between the National Landscapes, peatland twice the size of Birmingham has been restored, storing millions of tonnes of carbon and helping reduce the risk of flooding. Many thousands of hectares of habitat have been restored for nature.

Find out more about our work.

You will definitely know some of the iconic places in National Landscapes: one of the most famous British paintings – the Haywain by John Constable is in Dedham Vale National Landscape, Cheddar Gorge is in Mendip Hills National Landscape and Pendle Hill is in Forest of Bowland National Landscape.

The legal designation is still Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The name ‘National Landscape’ really highlights their national significance.

National Landscapes are designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – they are protected under the 1949 National Parks and Access to Countryside Act. Its protection is further enhanced by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, 2000 (CRoW2000).

This is an Act of Parliament passed in 1949 to conserve and enhance the most sensitive areas of the UK. It was a result of the findings of The Hobhouse Report and The John Dower Report – that were commissioned to respond to the wish of the public to have access to land for recreation purposes.