The dry stone walls close to Yorkshire Dales village where Emmerdale was first filmed

Dry stone walls can be seen here, patterning across Littondale in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, a nod to the region’s long-standing association with a skilful craft.

Based in Thirsk and working predominantly in the North Yorkshire Moors, the Yorkshire Dry Stone Walling Guild is an organization made up of people concerned about the future of these landmark features, some earning their living by building and repairing them.

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The guild explains: “Dry stone walling is an old craft for delineating boundaries between parcels of land or fields.

Dry stone walls pattern Littondale in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Technical details: Nikon D6 with 70-200 mm lens shot with the exposure 1/2500th of a second at f13, 400 ISO. Picture Tony Johnson

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“There is a growing demand for repair and preservation of these features, and far from the craft dying out; it is alive and well all over the country.

“The construction method does not use cement jointing; the finished result blends with the surroundings, provides shelter and habitat for a wide range of animals and insects, and if built correctly, will last a lifetime or more.”

It adds: “The network of dry stone walls across the landscape is one of the most eye catching and extensive man made structures within the Yorkshire Dales and North Yorkshire Moors.

“The long lasting strength of such walls is a testament to the skills of the wallers.”

It is thought there are around 5,000 miles of dry stone walls in the Dales alone, some dating back hundreds of years.

Early walls had overhanging top stones, which it is believed were used to deter predators, keeping wolves at bay.

The walls pictured here are in Littondale, which is made up of a series of villages including Arncliffe, where the original television series of Emmerdale Farm was filmed.

Its pub, the Falcon, appeared in the show as the Woolpack Inn.

The village was used from the first episode in the early 1970s before filming later moved to Esholt.

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