Landscape History
Although the Yorkshire Dales would seem at first glance to be a wonderful example of a natural landscape, there is actually very little of the current scenery that has not in some way been shaped by people and their effect on it.  The events that have led to the landscape looking as it does forms the landscape history.

Farming has had a major impact on the landscape in the Yorkshire Dales.  Without agriculture, there may not be the network of dry stone walls throughout the Dales.  Similarly, the field barns that are particularly prevalent in Swaledale may not have been built without the need to provide a shelter for livestock and their feed.

There are, of course, many other things that have shaped the landscape.  For example, the deforestation of the Dales was not only to enable a more settled lifestyle that involved cultivating land and domesticating animals like cattle and sheep.  It was also to make the defence of settlements easier and to improve the strike rate when hunting.  The landscape history covers all of these factors.