Landscapes tell a never-ending story. To understand this narrative, we must first look to see even the smallest details, listen carefully to hear the language of the land, and learn fervently from all the life that calls this landscape home.…
Yorkshire Dales National Park
A 469-acre upland estate defined by steep moorland slopes, blanket bog, and winding watercourses
In the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Swineley is a 469-acre upland estate stretching through the Widdale Valley from Hawes to Chapel-le-Dale. Defined by steep moorland slopes, blanket bog, and winding watercourses, it is a landscape that at first glance can feel stark—but beneath this lies an extraordinary ecological richness and opportunity for recovery.
The Estate is home to a remarkable diversity of habitats, including expansive blanket bogs, base-rich springs, rush pastures, and the meandering Widdale Beck. At its centre lies Swineley Meadow, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), recognised as one of the finest examples of a northern hay meadow in the Yorkshire Dales. These habitats support a wealth of species, from Curlew, Lapwing, and Black grouse to the endangered White-clawed crayfish, for which the beck provides an increasingly important refuge.
Yet like many upland farms, Swineley had previously been heavily managed – its natural systems simplified, its woodland largely removed, and its buildings left to deteriorate. Today, it represents both the impact of past land use and the opportunity to restore a more balanced, resilient landscape.
Woodland Creation
Woodland creation at Swineley is focused on reintroducing a missing component of the upland landscape—restoring tree cover in a way that reflects natural patterns and processes.
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Blanket Bog
The blanket bogs of Swineley are a critical natural asset, playing a vital role in carbon storage, water regulation, and biodiversity.
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Property Development
The built environment at Swineley reflects both its past and its future potential.
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Swineley is being transformed into a model of upland regeneration
Where natural processes are restored and habitats work together across the landscape.
Decades of intensive grazing, artificial inputs, and land management have pushed the Estate beyond its natural limits. Woodland is almost entirely absent, peatlands have been degraded, and ecological connectivity has been lost. Our vision is to reverse this trajectory—restoring the full complement of upland habitats while creating a landscape that supports biodiversity, stores carbon, and reconnects people with place.
Woodland Creation
Across the Estate, native species such as birch, rowan, willow, and alder are being established to reconnect fragmented habitats and create shelter for wildlife. As these woodlands develop, they will improve soil health, support biodiversity, and enhance the structure of the landscape—providing the foundation for a more resilient ecosystem.
Crucially, woodland creation is being integrated with the restoration of the Widdale Beck. By reintroducing natural river processes—such as large woody material and improved riparian vegetation—we are enhancing habitat diversity, stabilising riverbanks, and improving water quality.
Blanket Bog
Much of this peatland has been degraded through historic drainage and land management, but restoration is now underway to reverse this. Through rewetting and stabilisation, we are allowing peat-forming processes to recover—transforming the bog from a carbon source back into a long-term carbon store.
As the bog regenerates, it will also slow the movement of water through the landscape, improve downstream water quality, and create habitat for specialist upland species—re-establishing one of the most important ecosystems in the Yorkshire Dales.
Property Development
Many of the Estate’s traditional buildings have been left to deteriorate, but they offer an opportunity to bring life back into the landscape. Through sensitive restoration and redevelopment, we are exploring options for sustainable housing and low-impact tourism that align with the character of the National Park.
This approach ensures that Swineley remains a lived-in landscape—where people are part of the restoration story, not separate from it.
Explore our interactive landscape vision map for the Estate.
Guided by a commitment to measurable outcomes.
The Estate already demonstrates both the challenges and opportunities of upland recovery: degraded peatlands alongside strong soil health, low tree cover alongside high potential for woodland creation, and important existing habitats that can be expanded and connected.
Through these efforts, we aim to achieve a range of objectives—including clean water, carbon storage, spaces for wildlife, community homes, nature engagement, education and learning, green jobs, regenerative agriculture, and clean energy—that collectively contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The figures to the right represent the long-term impact we aim to deliver through restoration—measured over the lifetime of the Estate.
11,000 tonnes of CO2
removed or avoided from landscape-scale restoration
12 km
of watercourses restored
1 job
supported across the Estate
Articles from across the Estate
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Tucked away in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, a quiet but mighty transformation is unfolding along a modest stream. The Widdale Beck, winding through the heart of Swineley Farm, may not command the immediate awe of a roaring river, but…
Estate Management
Swineley is managed by Oxygen Conservation’s operations team through a low-intervention, landscape-led approach—reflecting the scale and sensitivity of this upland environment.
Day-to-day management focuses on enabling natural processes to recover, supported by targeted interventions such as conservation grazing, woodland creation, and peatland restoration. This is complemented by ongoing monitoring and collaboration with specialist partners, ensuring that decisions are informed by data and grounded in ecological understanding.
Through this model, Swineley is managed as part of a wider portfolio—allowing knowledge, expertise, and best practice to be shared across estates, while ensuring that the Estate’s long-term restoration is delivered with consistency, care, and ambition.