Yorkshire Dales National Park

The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a 2178km2 national park in England. The majority of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Cumbria and a small part in Lancashire. The park was designated in 1954, and was extended in 2016. Over 20,000 residents live and work in the park, which attracts over eight million visitors every year.LocationThe park is 50mi north-east of Manchester; Leeds and Bradford lie to the south, while Kendal is to the west, Darlington to the north-east and Harrogate to the south-east. The national park does not include all of the Yorkshire Dales. Parts of the dales to the south and east of the national park are located in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.HistoryIn 1954, an area of Yorkshire was designated as a new national park.2016 extensionA westward extension of the park into Lancashire and Cumbria encompasses much of the area between the old boundaries of the park and the M6 motorway. This increases the area by nearly 24% and brings the park close to the towns of Kirkby Lonsdale, Kirkby Stephen and Appleby-in-Westmorland. Prior to the expansion, the national park was solely in the historic county of Yorkshire, the expansion bringing in parts of historic Lancashire and Westmorland.