The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in Northern England covering 1,769km2, with a population of over 23,000. It is an area of dramatic scenery and includes the market towns of Hawes, Ilkley, Richmond, Settle and Skipton. The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) is responsible for the conservation, planning and economic development of the Dales. Our designer has worked with YDNPA for more than six years, with a brief to ‘help to promote a sense of place’ and encourage visitors to the Dales.
Task
Increase economic activity for local businesses and secure fragile communities. Educate visitors and promote leisure activities and places of interest.
Challenges
- Visitors congregated around a few ‘honeypot’ locations
- Majority of visitors ignorant about conservation issues, safety on the hills, courtesy to other Park users (eg: motorists and horse riders), which was undermining the Park’s proposition and people’s experience of it
- Lack of diversity among visitors, despite significant ethnic groups in the nearby conurbations of Bradford, Keighley and Leeds etc.
What We Did
- Design and production of promotional literature with cohesive branding to entice visitors to their local attractions and to consider the Park as a whole when planning leisure activities
- Design and production of Interpretation leaflets and maps, using QR codes to optimise the information available to hikers, and to enrich the visitor experience
- Promotion of alternative means of transport to and within the Park, such as cycle routes, the local bus services and the Settle to Carlisle railway
- Promotion of specialist trails/activities – eg providing information about the Pennine Bridleway, geocaching and long distance trails. We also created a poster to educate cyclists on how to pass horses which was used as an example by horse safety campaigners who recently convinced the British Horse Society to fund the highly successful ‘Dead Slow’ campaign
- We helped YDNPA identify key events and themes that the Authority could build on – The Tour de France for instance – and produced promotional literature and guides.
- Created a ‘Yorkshire Outdoors’ logo to promote local businesses involved in outdoor activities. We are currently working on a ‘Business Toolkit’ initiative to help local businesses increase bookings by promoting what the Dales can offer throughout the different seasons of the year. This includes highlighting the times of bird migrations, spring flowers and hay meadows for example.
Outcomes
This work has generated a marked increase in use of the Park by specific interest groups such as walkers, bird watchers, cyclists, horse riders etc., which has also had the impact of reducing car travel through the Park, while increasing opportunities for local businesses
Client Feedback
‘I have worked with Seaxburh’s designer over a number of years on a series of projects, including a suite of print and on-line publications to promote recreation in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and to encourage responsible behaviour amongst our visitors. The service received has been superb. He responds quickly to requests for quotes and produces high quality materials to often challenging deadlines. He is fast to understand the requirements of any particular project and come up with good designs first time. This high quality and efficient service is much appreciated and is what leads us to using your consultancy time and again.’
Mark Allum, Recreation & Tourism Manager, Yorkshire Dales National Park
