A public talk in Ilkley on 22 July, 7:30pm at The Clarke Foley Centre, will shed light on some of Wharfedale’s First World War archaeology as part of the UK Festival of Archaeology, as well as providing an insight into the town’s First World War story.

The project is also running two family-orientated First World War activity events, the first to take place in Masham on Sunday 26 July and the second in Otley on 13 September. Family groups will be able to meet a First World War living history ‘tommie’ and have a go at First World War archaeology.

There will also be a chance for local communities from across the AONB to drop in on one of our ‘First World War Bring and Tell’ events, where information about the project will be exhibited and people can tell us about any personal First World War stories or accounts. These events will take place in Glasshouses, Fewston and Pateley Bridge during August and September.

Project Officer Amanda Walters, who is co-ordinating these events, said: “Our volunteer researchers are hoping that these ‘Bring and Tell events’ will reveal new information about the far-reaching impact of the War on people and places from across the AONB, to add to the research they have already undertaken so far.”

All the events are part of a three year Heritage Lottery Funded First World War Centenary Project called The First World War and Nidderdale AONB. For more information about these events, to book a place or to find out more about the project, please contact Amanda Walters on 01423 551 664 or at amanda.peacock@harrogate.gov.uk.

Notes to editors

The Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is one of Britain's finest landscapes and is located on the eastern flanks of the Pennines in North Yorkshire. Covering an area of 233 square miles (603 km2), it shares its western boundary with the Yorkshire Dales National Park whilst its southern boundary follows the course of the River Wharfe alongside the towns of Ilkley and Otley. To the north and east of the AONB are the towns of Masham and Harrogate, and the city of Ripon.

The central feature of the AONB is the long, majestic dale of the River Nidd that runs from the wild fells around Great Whernside, south and east towards the Vale of York. The western side is occupied by a remote and wild gritstone landscape, with vast swathes of heather moorland that is internationally important for wildlife and home to some of the most famous grouse shoots in the country. To the east lies a much softer, pastoral landscape with rolling farmland, sheltered river valleys and picturesque villages, scattered with historic parks and gardens such as Hackfall and Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal World Heritage Site.

Nidderdale AONB is a working landscape that has been shaped by centuries of human activity. The valley has been moulded by a rich land use history that embraces agriculture, mining, quarrying, textiles and water provision, and as a result it has an extremely rich and complex historic environment with a wealth of medieval landscape features. The varied landscape has created diverse habitats, which support a wide range of flora and fauna of national and international importance.

Nidderdale was designated as An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty by the Government in 1994.

The AONB designation aims to:

• conserve and enhance the natural beauty
• encourage social and economic development that contributes to the natural beauty of the AONB
• improve the management of recreation and tourism

Responsibility for managing the AONB rests with the AONB's Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) and the AONB Team based in Pateley Bridge. The JAC has a maximum membership of 28 including 12 local authority representatives. Their role is to advise local authorities and other agencies about how to best achieve AONB objectives. The AONB Team runs various projects that conserve the AONB landscape and its wildlife and improve the management of recreation and tourism. The work of the team is managed through the JAC.

On a day-to-day basis, management of the AONB's landscape is carried out by farmers and other landowners, individual householders and many others. Everyone who works in, lives in or visits the Nidderdale AONB has a part to play in looking after this nationally important landscape.