Preserving the dry stone walls in the Yorkshire Dales

Dry stone walls have inspired local poets, photographers and artists alike, and a dedicated team in the Yorkshire Dales is keeping them in top condition

The Yorkshire Dales National Park is much-loved for its unique and dramatic landscapes, from rolling drumlin hills and steep-sided green valleys to rocky crags and expanses of limestone pavement terrace. Arguably, however, it is famous the world-over for its sprawling, extensive network of dry stone walls: their pale grey reflecting the underlying geology and covering an estimated 5000 miles.

The area around Ingleborough is no exception. Criss-crossing and connecting the hills and fields, dry stone walls have inspired local poets, photographers and artists alike. The history of Ingleborough’s walls goes back hundreds of years; many of the walls we see today are a result of the Enclosures Act of the late 1700s, and typically run in straight lines for miles. Older walls are often more fluctuating through the landscape and were used to drive livestock up the fells or keep out predatory animals. Many of the walls here are medieval in age, going back to the Monastic period of land ownership and built using older methods that are rarely seen in modern times. The stone itself is significantly older - over 350 million years old, and jam packed with fossilised shells of prehistoric sea creatures!

Black grouse thrive in the habitat. (Image: Margaret Holland YWT) Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is working with Natural England, WWF, University of Leeds and other partners on an extensive Wild Ingleborough programme. The programme aims to create bigger, better and more connected areas of habitat that give struggling upland species including curlew, rare plants and butterflies the space they need to flourish.

Dry stone walls are important to YWT’s work as vital land boundaries which dictate where ownership and responsibilities lie between landowners and farmers, just like fences and hedges. They are also strong, solid barriers to keep livestock enclosed in a particular area and prevent unwanted escapes into neighbouring land or onto roads, causing potential damage – and havoc!

The walls provide habitat and shelter for the smaller, hardier species that call Wild Ingleborough home. Mice, shrews and voles often take up residence, and occasionally stoats reveal themselves a few metres down the wall from wall repairs. As with stones upturned in your own garden, the walls are also filled with hundreds of invertebrates such as violet beetles, spiders, woodlice and centipedes. Barn and little owls are frequently seen, quartering along and looking out from a favoured spot.

A visiting stoat. (Image: Margaret Holland YWT) The method of building walls without mortar results in small gaps between the face stones which creates a tiny passage into the more spacious middle of the wall, which can also serve as the perfect place for nesting birds like song thrushes and redstarts. Wrens are also regularly seen (and heard!), hopping along dry stone walls and quickly vanishing inside, using the space as mini caves to nest in.

After a dry stone wall has been in place for a considerable time it will also become host to an array of wonderful mosses and lichens, which create tiny leafy forests along the wall tops and colourful splatters of orange and yellow lichens. Lichen helps to store carbon from the atmosphere – so our miles of dry stone walls are helping to combat the effects of our changing climate.

Volunteers dry stone walling at Ingleborough. (Image: Sara Telling our Stories Volunteer) Building a legacy

In keeping with the rest of the area, the vast majority of YWT’s eight Ingleborough reserves also have dry stone wall boundaries. Keeping them maintained is a constant and ongoing process, with wall gaps appearing due to weather, livestock and people damage, and also the gradual effects of time and gravity over the years pulling them down.

Dry stone walls and their rich heritage are crucial to our work at Ingleborough, and the Trust is proud to be keeping this ancient skill and tradition alive. It is crucial to maintain the walls that are in disrepair to prevent them being lost forever and to preserve the local historic heritage of the area. Vandalism is a problem, particularly on popular rambling routes where people may decide to take a short cut over a wall, collectively loosening the walls which adds to ongoing repairs.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust offers volunteering opportunities to help maintain the dry stone walls around their nature reserves in the Yorkshire Dales, such as at Grass Wood near Grassington, and at the reserves within the Wild Ingleborough programme area. The help and dedication of our existing volunteers who come to learn the craft of dry stone walling has assisted in keeping our precious and wonderful walls in great condition; their work will be admired for many years to come.

One of the iconic dry stone walls at Ingleborough. (Image: Sara Spillett) Wild Ingleborough

Ingleborough is home to an incredible array of very rare wildlife, including some plants which are found absolutely nowhere else in the world. Over the past three years Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has been working against the clock to try and conserve and restore these rare species and the habitats – limestone pavement, grassland meadow, peatland and montane woodland – they rely on.

However, the Trust relies on ongoing support. It costs £150 to cover costs of repairing two meters of dry stone wall: find out more about our work here ywt.org.uk/Wild-Ingleborough