It’s a blooming marvel

This annual festival features more than 100 wildflower-inspired activities across the Yorkshire Dales – one of the most important protected areas in the UK.

Co-ordinated by the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT), the festival – which runs until October, includes guided walks, identification courses, art exhibitions, children’s craft activities, bug hunts and ‘grow wild’ activities, all run by expert individuals and organisations. 

It gives people the opportunity to enjoy and learn more about the region’s wildflower-rich hay meadows and pastures, moorland fringes, open heather moorland, and limestone pavement.

These special habitats are home to a wide range of wildlife, including many rare and nationally scarce species of wildflowers, grasses, insects, birds and small mammals.

YDMT’s Flowers of the Dales Project Officer, Tanya St Pierre, said: “Finding time in our hectic lives to relax in the countryside and appreciate the beauty of nature is great for the mind, body and soul. “Through the Festival we aim to encourage people to do just this, and hope that the participants will help us spread the word so that the Yorkshire Dales will be valued, treasured and cared for, ensuring it remains a truly special place for future generations.”

More than 19,000 people have enjoyed taking part in Flowers of the Dales events since the first Festival in 2009. The Festival provides hundreds of reasons to spend quality time in the beautiful dales countryside, and helping people to discover and enjoy the incredible beauty of the landscape and wildflowers of the Dales.

The Festival programme can be viewed and downloaded at www.ydmt.org/Festival2014. Or to receive a printed copy of the programme please send an A5 SAE (50p postage) to: Flowers of the Dales, YDMT, Old Post Office, Main Street, Clapham, North Yorkshire LA2 8DP.