In a relatively remote part of northwest Yorkshire within the Yorkshire Dales National Park sits Ingleborough mountain. This is a remote upland landscape which is home to a wide range of rare and endangered species; one-third of Britain’s flowering species are present within the wild heart of the Ingleborough National Nature Reserve, including 43 montane and submontane species – one of which is only found at Ingleborough.

Here you’ll find one the finest limestone habitats in the UK, flower-rich limestone pastures and some of the Uk’s best examples of limestone pavement at South House, Scar Close, Colt Park and Southerscales. Large areas are clothed in expansive sweeping blanket bogs - a potential powerhouse of carbon storage with its unique and specialized species like sundews and cotton-grasses.

Over time however, successive changes in post-war government agricultural policy and economic imperatives to produce more food have led to extreme pressure from grazing sheep, the draining and drying of blanket bog areas, and almost the complete destruction of limestone pavements to be used in garden rockeries. Many of Ingleborough’s rarest montane species have been pushed back into isolated pockets in out of the way rocky places that even sheep can’t get to – until now.

Landscape-scale recovery

Wild Ingleborough, launched in June 2021 and led by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Natural England, is a partnership with WWF, United Bank of Carbon, University of Leeds and the Woodland Trust. The programme works over an area of around 1200 hectares stretching from the River Ribble in the valley bottoms almost to the summit of Ingleborough itself, and made up of eight Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves and the larger Ingleborough National Nature reserve. Together we have sought to demonstrate that wildlife in this landscape can recover, allowing habitats and their species to bounce back, and give us a glimpse of what the wider landscape could look like with a new and shared vision.

Amazing grazing

The areas of Ingleborough that have not been grazed for decades are home to some of the most species-rich habitats, ranging from scrubby limestone grassland and pavement to recovering blanket bog. We have added further ungrazed areas through Wild Ingleborough, and have introduced hardy breeds of cattle to replicate some of the impact extinct wild herbivores, like elk and aurochs would have on the landscape, in creating a mosaic of different habitats. 

By reducing the number of sheep, removing boundaries between sites, and working with local farmers and graziers to introduce cattle breeds like Belted Galloway and Red Poll, we have already started to see a significant difference in biodiversity. 

Monitoring from the University of Leeds, supported by the United Bank of Carbon, has noted an increase in the abundance of wildflowers – particularly vulnerable, red-listed species and specialist species – and we have noticed that the varied structure of the vegetation is leading to an incredible increase in the abundance of wildflowers and butterflies and an explosion in the populations of every kind of invertebrate. When the sun is shining on a still summer’s day the heady aroma of wild thyme and lady’s bedstraw on the air is just breathtaking.

Lightly cattle-grazed sites are also about five times more abundant in butterflies compared to sites grazed by sheep, and there are nearly four times more butterflies on ungrazed compared to sheep-grazed sites. The diversity of butterfly species is also significantly higher on cattle-grazed and ungrazed sites compared to sheep grazed sites.

The wood for the trees

Woodland covers just 4% of the Yorkshire Dales and only a quarter of this is native broad-leaved woodland - there is even less around Ingleborough, and our monitoring shows that the ability for our woodlands to grow naturally decreases by 25% for every additional 100m you move away. 

Bringing woodland back to Ingleborough requires a helping hand so we have planted small areas of woodland to become future seed sources. These focus on linking up existing fragments of woodland and introducing fingers of trees and montane scrub species up smaller fells and along watercourses where there is currently no seed source – holly, rowan, silver and downy birch, oak, wild privet, purging buckthorn, spindle and hazel to name a few. 

Alongside naturally regenerating trees Wild Ingleborough has now planted 150,000 Woodland Trust-supplied trees, creating 97 hectares of new woodland. We monitor the trees annually, and after four years – in spite of the fact that we don’t protect the majority of new trees with tree tubes – survival rates are so that we no longer need to replace any trees that may have been nibbled by deer, rabbits, hares or voles.

Our new grazing regime is also helping our woodlands to grow - natural colonisation increases by 16% each year after removal of sheep grazing in both ungrazed and cattle-grazed plots. 

These woodland pockets are already acting as microhabitats for invertebrates, mammals and birds to shelter and feed from. Our surveying team were delighted to see new and interesting species using willows as food plants, and the first berries on rowan trees planted at the start of the project. Now all we need is for these trees to become mature woodland!

Our Community

Our work is not just about wildlife; it is also about empowering people to engage with, enjoy and take action to look after the wildlife and habitats that make Wild Ingleborough so special.

Volunteers are at the heart of what we do and we welcome anyone to join us on a practical conservation day – no prior knowledge or experience required. Volunteers have given us over 13,000 hours of their time and have planted nearly all our trees, pricked out thousands of plants in the nursery, undertaken survey work, run sessions at public events, helped maintain our many traditional drystone walls. They have learnt new skills, made new friends, and made a long-lasting contribution to Ingleborough’s wildlife.

We have also worked with around 40 local primary schools and a group of 16-17 year olds from Bradford to encourage children to connect with the wildlife and landscape on their doorstep. 140 children from 5 local primary schools have also achieved a John Muir Award through their work with Wild Ingleborough, giving recognition that they have helped to protect and care for a local wild place.

We are particularly proud of Our Access to Nature Fund, which supports groups from across the region to visit the area. Between 2022-25 we awarded 30 grants to a diverse range of groups, including young carers, disability support groups, schools, and community groups including Become United, Muslim Women's Council, and groups supporting people with mental and physical health issues stemming from poverty.

We have run a huge range of events, guided walks and talks for the local community and visitors, with 3497 people attending events to date. For the last three years this has culminated with our annual Ground Nest Fest, now a week-long celebration of the ground nesting birds of Wild Ingleborough and beyond, with events ranging from dawn chorus walks to animated film-making.

Safeguarding this special area 

Natural England have now extended the boundary of the National Nature reserve, including six of our eight nature reserves for the first time. The reserve was declared as part of The Kings Series of National Nature Reserves and the work we’ve led on through the Wild Ingleborough programme helped to secure the declaration, and we couldn’t be prouder. 

Thank you to our supporters

All this work needed the backing of an army of supporters and funders. WWF and YWT have worked hard to secure substantial support, grants and funding from the Quadrature Foundation, Shears Foundation, Aviva Insurance, the Michael Uren Foundation, Harrison-Spinks, InnTravel, Rebel Restoration and the Garfield Weston Foundation, with additional land purchases supported by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the Bellfield and Schofield families, and United Bank of Carbon.

Finally, we are incredibly grateful to our members and supporters who have generously supported our ongoing Wild Ingleborough campaign. You are as much a part of making Wild Ingleborough happen as the staff and volunteers doing the practical work on the ground.