Nidderdale - An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Spectacular Nidderdale in North Yorkshire is a landscape of contrasts, although outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park it was designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1994 and covers an area of 233 square miles (603 km2).

The dale consists of the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south underground and then along the dale, forming several reservoirs including Gouthwaite Reservoir, before turning east and eventually joining the River Ouse.

The AONB covers a much wider area than Nidderdale itself and includes part of lower Wharfedale, the Washburn valley and part of lower Wensleydale and the side valleys west of the River Ure.

It contains the atmospheric ruins of Jervaulx Abbey The atmospheric ruins of Jervaulx Abbey, one of the great Cistercian abbeys of Yorkshire, which stand at East Witton near Ripon. It is possibly the largest privately owned Abbey. The name Jervaulx is first recorded in 1145, where it appears as Jorvalle. It means means 'Ure valley' in French, and may be a translation of the English Uredale.

The western side of the Nidd Valley consists of a remote gritstone moorland, marked by rocky outcrops and carpeted with vast swathes of heather. To the east the landscape is softer with rolling farmland, sheltered river valleys and picturesque stone villages.

The highest point in the Nidderdale AONB is Great Whernside, which rises to 704 metres, on the border with the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The only town in the dale is Pateley Bridge, which lies on the River Niid, but it includes the villages of Lofthouse, Wath, Ramsgill, Middlesmoor above Pateley Bridge, and Bewerley, Glasshouses, Summerbridge, Dacre, Darley, Birstwith, Hampsthwaite and Kettlesing below Pateley.

Coldstones Cut is a man made land sculpture cut in to the side of Coldstone limestone quarry, the views from there are stunning and on a clear day, it is possible to see all the way to the Yorkshire coast. Brimham Rocks are amazing balancing rock formations on Brimham Moor.

Yorkshire's 'Little Switzerland', or How Stean Gorge as it's more commonly known, carved out over thousands of years by waterflow, The gorge is nearly a kilometre long (1/2 mile), and is as much as 80 feet deep in some areas, it is crossed by several narrow bridges. At the Via Ferrata, visitors can experience the thrills of balancing on beams and ladders and traversing the rock face above the rushing water.

The fantastic geological formations of Stump Cross Caverns, one of Britain's premier show caves, descend to 20 metres below the surface and contain amazing limestone formations. The caves at Stumps Cross were discovered in 1860 by miners who looking for lead seams in the Yorkshire Dales.

The Nidderdale Way is 53 mile long circular walk that runs along the length of Nidderdale, passing a variety of landscapes from riverbank to moors. The route takes in Pateley Bridge, the Nidderdale Villages of Glasshouses, Smelthouses, Feliscliffe, Shaw Mills, Ripley, Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Darley, Summerbridge, Dacre Banks, Bewerley, Ramsgill, Middlesmoor, Scar House Reservoir, Gouthwaite Reservoir, Wath and back to Pateley Bridge.