Cultural heritage

The rides also take you past a wealth of history, including passing through remains of the lead mining industry, evidence of the influence of the monasteries, and the legacy of the Romans. For instance the well known route of Mastiles Lane once formed part of an important long distance monastic route connecting Fountains Abbey with its lands in the Dales and Lake District, and the Craven Way would have been used as a packhorse trading route and drovers road for bringing cattle down from Scotland.

More recently the Settle-Carlisle railway was forced through the area using huge amounts of labour to build viaducts and tunnels. Then there are the villages themselves, with their stone built buildings and traditional architecture, and carefully set into the surrounding countryside.

To find out more about the history of the Dales, visit the National Park Authority's Out of Oblivion website.