Charity hails 'invaluable' Dales access project

Feel Good Factor runs regular trips to the Yorkshire Dales

A charity has praised a national park's plan to attract a greater diversity of visitors, saying access to the countryside had an "immeasurable" impact on wellbeing.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) recently unveiled its management plan to improve accessibility over the next five years - with boosting diversity one of six key ambitions.

Feel Good Factor Leeds (FGF) is working with the authority to give groups from underserved communities the opportunity to visit the Dales.

Beverley Gilbert, community worker at the charity, said the trips helped people realise "the Yorkshire Dales is for everybody, whoever you are".

A relationship with the national park was "invaluable" in opening up the countryside, she added.

The proposals from the YDNPA include working with community groups to run activity days and offering extra support to underserved communities to help them access the park.

The plan also aims to provide at least 7,000 volunteer days per year, with the ambition that at least 20% of participants come from underserved communities.

FGF supports communities across Leeds, including people with disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Alongside financial factors, a lack of representation in the past may have excluded certain groups and made them feel the Dales "weren't for them", Ms Gilbert said.

"Getting our members and our communities out to the Yorkshire Dales has been an eye-opener for them," she explained.

A plan has been unveiled to encourage greater diversity in the Yorkshire Dales

One annual trip involves taking groups of children and young adults into the national park, with transport and activities provided by the park authority.

Some in the group have never left Leeds, according to Ms Gilbert.

"To see the excitement and the intrigue on their faces - I still see them now and they're still talking about it. The impact it makes is immeasurable, it really is."

In the future, she said she hoped FGF and other community groups - with the help of the national park authority - could introduce a broader age range of people to the benefits of the countryside.

Other objectives included in the five-year management plan are restoring wildlife, mitigating the effects of climate change and boosting the local economy.

David Sharrod, outgoing chair of the National Park Management Plan Partnership, said: "These objectives are measurable and grounded in reality.

"This isn't vague 'motherhood and apple pie' - it's about putting local people at the heart of real change."

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