Spotlight on heritage of dairy farms

A NEW two-year project aims to tell the story of how dairy farming has been an intrinsic part of the Wensleydale economy for generations.

The dale’s dairying heritage will be explored as researchers piece together the incomplete human story behind the industry’s role in the dale’s way of life.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Dairy Days project is funded by a £37,700 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. It will involve research into archaeological sites linked to cattle farming and a community dig. Oral history interviews will be carried out, workshops will be held for schools and visitors and training in archaeological field survey work and 3D recordings of buildings will be offered.

The history of milking, cheese, cream and butter-making will be studied and a new ‘Milky Way’ walking trail will be created.

The project culminates in an exhibition at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes during the summer of 2019.

Karen Griffiths, Dairy Dales project officer, said: “Dairying has been at the heart of the Wensleydale economy since records began and is still thriving today. The Dairy Days project aims to research and then share the story of this unbroken thread.”

A launch event takes place at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes on Tuesday, April 24 from 10.30am.