Yorkshire Dales' upcoming National Park celebration

THERE will be something for everyone next week in the Yorkshire Dales as a weeklong series of events celebrate the special qualities of the UK’s 14 national parks.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) is staging a series of events to tie in with the annual National Parks Week, which runs from July 28 to August 3 and aims to raise awareness that these beautiful areas exist.

This year the event has been given the theme National Parks – Your Countryside on a Plate and is dedicated to promoting locally-sourced food and farming.

For people who live in a National Park or are just visiting, supporting, buying and eating local produce make an important contribution to the local economy of the communities that live there.

To coincide with National Parks Week, the YDNPA-owned Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes is introducing a new service for visitors – take-away picnics full of mouth-watering combinations of traditional sandwiches and cakes.

The Museum launches an exhibition on Monday that is part of the Yorkshire Dales Hay Time Festival, which celebrates the traditional hay meadows in the National Park.

The picnic service is a way of reminding people of the old tradition, and all the food will be sourced from local suppliers, placing the emphasis on ‘thinking globally, by buying locally’

Fiona Rosher - Dales Countryside Museum

The picnics will link with the exhibition and the hay time tradition of "bringing the drinkings” – taking food into the fields to the workers during haymaking, according to Museum Manager Fiona Rosher.

“The picnic service is a way of reminding people of the old tradition, and all the food will be sourced from local suppliers, placing the emphasis on ‘thinking globally, by buying locally’,” she said.

“Visitors will be able to choose what they want and place an order with us.

“We will have some ready-made picnics available in the Museum but the others will be made up by a local business in the town and will be delivered to us ready for collection a short time after the order is taken.”

More details about the National Parks Week and the Yorkshire Dales Hay Time Festival can be obtained by visiting the YDNPA website on www.yorkshiredales.org.uk

29 July: Drystone walling demonstraton, Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes, 2pm to 4pm. Telephone 01969 666210.

29 July: A trip out with a Ranger, Reeth National Park Centre, 11am to 3pm. Telephone 01748 884059.

30 July: Teddy bears picnic, Grassington National Park car park, 12pm to 2pm. Telephone 01756 751690.

30 July: Leadmining around Langthwaite – discovery walk, Red Lion Inn, Langthwaite, 1pm to 3.30pm. Telephone 01748 884059.

30 July: 'Discover and do', Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes, 2pm to 4pm. Telephone 01969 666210.

31 July: East Cowgill circular – guided walk, Dent station, 12.30pm to 4.30pm. Telephone 01969 666210.

31 July: Teddy bears picnic, Malham National Park Centre, 12pm to 2pm. Telephone 01969 652380.

31 July: Wildlife of Snaizeholme – guided walk, Mirkpot House, 2pm to 4pm. Telephone 01969 666210.

1 August: Storytelling, Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes, 2pm to 3pm. Telephone 01969 666210.

2 August: Moth Trapping and Identification – guided walk, Killington New Bridge Local Nature Reserve, on the roadside to the south of the road bridge, 8.30pm to 11.59pm. Telephone 01969 666210.

3 August: History of Grinton Mines – discovery walk, Grinton Youth Hostel, 12.15pm to 2.45pm. Telephone 01748 884059.

3 August: Rag rug making, Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes, 10am to 4pm. Telephone 01969 666210.