Yorkshire Dales tourist trail planned to highlight lime works history

Plans have been unveiled for a tourist trail taking in the lime-working history of the Yorkshire Dales.

North Yorkshire Council unveiled £310,000 plans for the trail around the Langcliffe Quarry site near Settle.

A £3.5m redevelopment was finished last year to turn the former quarry and limeworks into a business space.

The plans included the preservation of three kilns which were at the centre of the region's lime industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Hoffman Kiln, built in 1873, is one of only seven surviving in the country and is one of the largest and best-preserved in the UK, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The site has become an important habitat for birds and bats.

The buildings are next to the Settle to Carlisle railway, which historically brought in coal and transported the limestone.

North Yorkshire Council hopes guided walks, bird-watching days and special interest talks will draw visitors to the area.

It has submitted a bid worth £155,000 to the government's Shared Prosperity Fund to go towards the project, while councillors on the Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee have agreed to spend £25,000 on design work.

A council spokesperson said: "The project aims to improve access around the site for a wider group of users, help people imagine the site in operation, and help them gain a better understanding and appreciation of the local lime-working industry."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].