A SMALL Dales hill farm is to be declared a national nature reserve on Tuesday.

New House Farm which lies high on Malham Moor will receive the official designation from the chief executive of English Nature, David Arnold-Foster

He said: "National nature reserves are the jewels of England's natural assets. They are special places that protect the best of our wildlife.

"The meadows at New House Farm are of exceptional quality with over 30 different plant species being found in any given square metre."

These include wood crane's-bill, great burnet, greater butterfly orchid, melancholy thistle, and lady's mantle.

New House Farm was purchased by the National Trust in 1996. It comprises of a farmhouse, adjoining cow byre, traditional barn and a Nissen hut.

The importance of the hay meadow types is that only about 600 hectares are thought to exist in England, of which only 100 occur in Yorkshire.

The farm was bought by the National Trust when farmer Walter Umpleby retired.

Martin Drury, Director General of the National Trust commented: "He farmed it in a traditional, self-sufficient way, practically unchanged since the 1950s.

"That we are receiving this designation today, is a great tribute to Walter, his love of the land and years of painstaking work.

"New House Farm is one of only a few farmsteads which continues to be farmed in a traditional way, leading to the survival of many of the rarer pasture and meadow plants of the Dales."

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