Yorkshire Dales
A village in Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales lie in an area of high ground in North and West Yorkshire, England.
Although many valleys all over Yorkshire are called "(name of river)+dale", such as Airedale or Calderdale, the Yorkshire Dales are usually deemed to be those valleys north of the Wharfe. In recent years most of this area has been designated a national park. The dales themselves are 'U' and 'V' shaped valleys cut in flat limestone pavement by glaciation. The characteristic scenery is green upland pastures separated by dry-stone walls and grazed by sheep and cattle.
The moorss above are covered with heather and famed for grouse shooting in the months following August 12 each year (the 'Glorious Twelfth'). See Yorkshire Wolds.
The beautiful Yorkshire Dales were made forever famous in the nostalgic literary works of local veterinarian James Herriot, beginning with If Only They Could Talk in 1970.
| National parks of England and Wales: |
| Current Parks: Brecon Beacons | The Broads | Dartmoor | Exmoor | Lake District | North York Moors | Northumberland | Peak District | Pembrokeshire Coast | Snowdonia | Yorkshire Dales |
| Proposed Parks: New Forest (approved June 2004) | South Downs |