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Welcome to the Traveldales website

 Whether you are a visitor to the Yorkshire Dales National Park or a local resident, www.traveldales.org.uk will provide you with all the information you need to travel around and enjoy the special qualities of this precious landscape in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner.

Over eight million people visit the Dales each year.  Unfortunately most visitors currently come by car and the ever-increasing use of vehicular transport is threatening the very qualities that attract people in the first place. Every extra car journey contributes to the erosion of the National Park's special character by:

• Creating pressure for local roads to be widened and for natural areas to be turned into car parks.
• Encouraging parking on roadside verges which is both unsightly and damaging to the many species of plants which thrive there.
• Increasing congestion in and around the most popular sites and villages
• Increasing traffic noise and pollution levels. Many species are threatened by changes to their habitat. Countless livestock, other animals and birds are killed each year by cars.

This website is aimed at helping you to enjoy the National Park in a sustainable and low impact manner by thinking carefully about your travel arrangements. It was established by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority as part of the TARGET Project (Travel Awareness Regions Group for Environmental Transport) .

 The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority

The Yorkshire Dales National Park was designated in 1954 under the National Parks and Countryside Act 1949 in order to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area and to promote its enjoyment by the public. The Environment Act 1995 modified these purposes to:-

• Conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the National Parks; and
• Promoting opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of National Parks by the public.

In pursuing these purposes the Authority has a new duty to seek to foster the economic and social wellbeing of local communities within the National Park. You can read all about the work of the Authority on our main website at www.yorkshiredales.org.uk.

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority,  Yoredale, Bainbridge, Leyburn, North Yorkshire. DL8 3EL