The Skell Valley Project UNESCO World Heritage Sites at the forefront of Climate Change

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal

A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Located in North Yorkshire is the extraordinary Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The World Heritage Site comprises two parts: the medieval ruins of Fountains Abbey and the 18th century Studley Royal water garden, sitting within the broader Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Together they create an awe-inspiring site that is of global importance in human history.

Studley Royal is one of the last remaining 18th-century gardens to have survived in its original form and is one of the most spectacular water gardens in England. It is an outstanding example of the ‘English’ garden style where, instead of the designers imposing a structure upon nature, they worked in harmony with it. The designers, John and William Aislabie, integrated the River Skell into the water gardens and used it to create canals, ponds, cascades, lawns and hedges, with elegant garden buildings, gateways and statues.

At the heart of this landscape is the equally important medieval ruins of Fountains Abbey, one of the few Cistercian houses to survive from the 12th century. The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. At its peak, it was one of the wealthiest monasteries in England through the production of wool, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying. The Abbey was abruptly closed down in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII.

The World Heritage Site also includes the Elizabethan Fountains Hall, and St Mary’s Church, a masterpiece of High Victorian Gothic architecture. The area is not just important for its rich archaeological record going back to the Romans, it also contains a rich and varied ecology. It is home to eight species of bat, native white-clawed crayfish and newts.

Today, the World Heritage Site welcomes approximately 600,000 visitors every year from the local area and further afield. It is one of the most visited places owned by the National Trust and one of the most popular tourism attractions in Yorkshire.

The Skell Valley Partnership

A sustainable future for communities and people living along the River Skell

Over five years the World Heritage Site Coordinator, Sarah France (pictured), and her team worked with partners, farmers, landowners and communities living, working and visiting the 12-mile Skell Valley to develop and shape the project.

In partnership with farmers and the landowners upstream, they decided they could deal with the issues facing the site at its source through natural flood management measures.

As the Skell Valley Project developed and the team spoke to more people who live along the River Skell and outside the boundary of the World Heritage Site, the team realised they could address many other sustainable development challenges and have a lasting impact on the communities that live, work and enjoy the area.

"This is a significant marker in the history of this fascinating valley – and an important moment for the Trust. Climate change is eroding away nature and heritage and only by working across our boundaries, with local people and partners, and with nature, will we be able to make a real difference." Harry Bowell, National Trust Director of Land & Nature

The project team engaged with over 1000 people through 35 events, drop-ins and workshops. This helped to develop their ideas and shape the project, creating partnerships that would make a meaningful difference to communities, businesses and culture and nature along the 12 miles of the River from its source on the moors to the City of Ripon.

In 2018 the project secured an initial £128,900 in stage 1 funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund which was match-funded by the National Trust, the AONB and its partners.

"Most importantly, we reflected on who was missing from the conversation and took steps to proactively include voices from audiences who were less engaged with the Skell Valley at present. While this work is by no means over, there has been positive progress in ensuring the plans which make up the project are reflective of the Skell Valley's communities. The relationships and excitement which have been built up during this process will gain momentum as we move towards the delivery phase and communities and partners take a lead on achieving the vision for the Skell Valley which has been outlined by the people with a stake in the landscape" Sarah France

Landscape is Resilient

Theme one

Iain Mann, Manager, Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The Skell Valley project will help tackle the threats of climate change and ensure communities and organisations play their part in a ‘green’ recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic - making the landscape, its people and the local economy more resilient.

Critical to the delivery of this theme is the partnership between the National Trust and Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The World Heritage Site and 12 miles of the River Skell sit within Nidderdale AONB, which is an area of 233 square miles located on the eastern flanks of the Yorkshire Pennines. AONBs are designated in England in recognition of their national importance and to ensure that their character and qualities are protected for all to enjoy.

This means that the AONB has a much wider remit working with landowners and visitors across the whole of the AONB, including the River Skell catchment down to the outskirts of the City of Ripon.

Critical to the success of the project was the AONB's good working relationship with farmers and landowners in the Skell Valley over many years.

'We've got really good longstanding relationships with many of the landowners and farmers in the area and that's key to making this project work because its actually the landowners and the farmers on the ground who are going to make the difference and it's working with them that will make this project succeed'

Iain Mann

Working with farmers and led by Nidderdale AONB, the project will implement a Natural Flood Management programme, improve water quality and make the Skell Valley better for nature. Tree planting, wetland creation, new ponds and bankside fencing will reduce soil run- off into the river and slow the flow during periods of heavy rainfall making the river better for wildlife and protecting the heritage and homes downstream.

The partnership will also trial new ways for rewarding farmers for the flood risk and water quality services they provide to the heritage, communities and businesses downstream, in effect the 'beneficiaries' of those services.

While the project started with a focus on natural flood management, the partnership quickly realised that there were wider societal challenges that the scheme could address. The Skell Valley Project now delivers on recreation, tourism, heritage, and on biodiversity and on health.

Discover the projects here

People are empowered

Theme 3

Karen Weaver, Strategic Lead, Harrogate & District Community Action (HADCA) 

The third theme of the project is empowering people to deliver projects for nature, heritage and landscape by supporting them in learning the skills they need and removing current barriers that stop people accessing the outdoors and nature around them.

One of the key partners in the delivery of this theme is Harrogate & District Community Action (HADCA), an independent registered charity which supports communities, charities and volunteers throughout the Harrogate District of North Yorkshire. HADCA runs a network called 'Connecting Ripon', which brings together voluntary and community organisations across the City of Ripon.

This network is vital for the success of the Skell Valley Project as it makes sure that communities and businesses in the City will benefit from the funding. One way it does this is to support the organisation in developing the volunteering experience in Ripon, by looking at how they can grow the number of volunteers, share resources and providing training. The Project has also provided funding for a project coordinator to understand the volunteering needs of organisations in the City, and establish ways to help younger people access volunteering opportunities.

"Volunteering is something that really is absolutely vital, I think, in communities. It's not always seen, it's not always visible, or people maybe sometimes think of very particular volunteer roles like the charity shop, but there are so many different roles and it's so important to have active volunteers to enable things to happen in the community. So whether it's a wonderful place like the Ripon Museum Trust, where volunteers mean that the doors can open and visitors can be welcomed, in the City of Ripon, there are lots of different charities that are really dependent on volunteers. Those volunteers are giving something, they're giving their time and their skills, but they're also getting something back. They've been involved in their community, it benefits their own mental health and well being, they're making social connections and they're contributing to their community." Karen Weaver.

All the projects under this theme

Developing the international

The project has also developed into a transnational project.

The Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal UNESCO World Heritage Site cooperated with Rwenzori Mountains World Heritage Site in Uganda as part of the Melting Snow and Rivers in Flood project funded by the UK's Cultural Protection Fund and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the International National Trusts Organisation, and the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda.

In this project, the World Heritage team was able to share its natural flood management experiences with Rwenzori, while the Rwenzori team shared its experience in community engagement and understanding and mapping the importance of intangible heritage to local people. As well as highlighting the interweaving of natural, cultural and intangible heritage, the project emphasised the importance of being guided by the experience and needs of local communities.

Being part of a community of UNESCO World Heritage Sites - over 1000 sites - that are facing very similar challenges and similar opportunities as well, means that we've got that network of like-minded people and that means the contacts and the language we're speaking is very similar. That's really helped us work together to face the challenges that many of these sites are facing.'

Justin Scully, General Manager, National Trust