Ask 100 people for a description of the Yorkshire Dales, and you're likely to get as many different answers.

This is partly because of the rich diversity of this great national park, and partly because the Dales means different things to different people.

However, very few would argue that they contain some of the most awesome and beautiful scenery in Britain. It is simultaneously raw, beautiful, inspiring, tranquil and breath-taking.

Published this month, The Yorkshire Dales - A 50th Anniversary Celebration of the National Park (Great Northern, £19.99) is a glossy and comprehensive evocation of the Dales over the past 50 years, both in image and spirit.

The editor and principal author of the book, David Joy, a former editor of the Dalesman magazine, has lived in and written about the Dales for several decades. He was a government-appointed member of the national park committee for nine years and is a member of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

The fascination with the Dales is perhaps best conveyed by actor , mountaineer and president of the Council for National Parks, Brian Blessed: "If I didn't get to the Dales regularly I would start to shrink as a human being."

One of the book's most interesting sections is the changes and the continuity as seen through the eyes of Sutill family, three generations of farmers in Coverdale.

As Ronnie Suthill points out, food shopping in the Dales has come full circle, with big supermarkets providing a delivery service, harking back to an era where some villages were dependant on the weekly delivery man.

The highlight of the book is the images. Artists and photographers have covered the Dales in every mood and aspect.

Another important element of the book is the contributions from local school children, who seem to be as bewitched by the Dales as the adult contributors.