Located between Leeds and Manchester, more than a million people live in or around the South Pennine uplands yet they can still feel remote, wild and exhilarating. It is the watershed between the North Sea and Irish Sea where Lancashire and Yorkshire are united.

There are significant pressures, e.g., our peat resources are in the front line of our battle to mitigate climate change. Engaging local communities through projects based on science, archaeology and creative arts has improved understanding of the value of the landscape. Managed by Pennine Prospects, a rural regeneration NGO and working with volunteers and providing training has enabled more people to be directly involved in caring for and managing this fragile landscape.

The Heritage Lottery Fund Landscape Partnership programme is inspired by the European Landscape Convention. These values were reflected in the aims of the Watershed Landscape Project agreed by our Partnership Board:

• To protect and enhance the key features of the watershed landscape, that make it not only a unique place but one that continues to be nationally and internationally significant for its biodiversity and historic features

• To improve understanding of the role that the moorlands have played in providing resources for society in the past, and their current and future roles.

• To ensure that the moorlands continue to provide a healthy and thriving multi-functional landscape for today’s society

• To encourage greater understanding and enjoyment of the special landscape, so that it is further valued and protected