Nidderdale National Landscape is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, between Harrogate and the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It includes 600 square km of stunning protected countryside that everyone can enjoy.

Nidderdale has six Special Qualities:

• our fascinating heritage, created by thousands of years of human activity
• a rich and varied landscape, from the tranquil expanses of reservoirs and rivers, open heather moorlands and rolling pastures, to stone walls, farm buildings and villages.
• the geology of gritstone overlaying limestone which has affected how the landscape has developed and gives us remarkable places like Brimham Rocks.
• some of the darkest and most star-studded night skies in England with four official dark skies discovery sites.
• a rich wildlife habitat supporting a great diversity of species, from the high heather moorland with its pockets of blanket bog to rare hay meadows in the valley bottoms.
• historic parks and gardens, offering a gentler side to explore than some of the wilder parts of the Pennines. We’ve even got a World Heritage Site – Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal.

Attractions and places to visit

Nidderdale National Landscape includes some of Yorkshire’s loveliest towns and villages, and fascinating attractions.

You don’t need to rush about though – take time to enjoy the great views, or appreciate our calming dark skies.

There are countless walks, cycle tracks and bridlepaths to explore, or you could discover a different side to Nidderdale by climbing, paddling or kayaking.