FARM improvement grants came under the spotlight when conservationists and farmers gathered in Swaledale.

The farm walk at Crow Trees, Gunnerside, on Wednesday of last week, was organised by the River Swale Regeneration Project in a bid to pull together the types of schemes and funding which could work jointly to help improve the landscape.

Its was led by Phil Lyth, of the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, and farmer Norman Hunter and his wife, Ruth.

The farm comprises about 40 hectares of meadow and two SSSI moorland commons: Muker Common, which is in the Countryside Stewardship scheme, and Oxnop, which is aided by an English Nature wildlife enhancement agreement.

Mr Hunter has 550 breeding ewes with 150 replacements and, following the foot-and-mouth outbreak in neighbouring Wensleydale, plans to keep more sheep at home rather than wintering them away.

In the last five years, two kilometres of dry stone walling has been rebuilt on the farm under the Environmentally Sensitive Areas programme and a further 800 metres are to be tackled in the next five years.

ESAs were launched in Swaledale in 1987 and Mr Lyth said many examples of improvements under the programme could now be seen in the area. Some of the funding came from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority's barns and walls scheme, which has also helped improve traditional stone field barns on the holding.

Mr Lyth said three potential sources of funding existed for such barns, including the national park scheme, run in partnership with English Heritage, which spent about £50,000 a year in Swaledale and Littondale. Others were schemes run under the ESA and Countryside Stewardship programmes, which could also cover industrial heritage features, such as lime kilns and chimneys.

Mr Hunter said the buildings he had improved had not only safeguarded the unique barns pattern of the dale, but also proved useful. "I have used them as lambing shelters and for general storage and it is surprising what you can do with a relatively modest barn once it is sound," he said.

Kathryn Beardmore, of the national park authority, said £150,000 of work had been carried out under the River Swale Regeneration Project, which sought to improve the riverside from the source to Richmond.

Nearly 18 hectares of woodland had been planted or regenerated, riverbanks had been protected and a silage bale wrap recycling scheme had been successful.

Peter Welsh, of English Nature's Yorkshire Dales base in Leyburn, said less-favoured areas such as Swaledale were still short of money for environmental schemes. It was important that farmers realised the whole package of grant aid available to them, which could be patched together for a whole-farm approach.

"The long-term view is that, perhaps, we need to move towards a more integrated scheme with all agencies advising on that," he said.

The importance of ghylls -steep, narrow valleys carved out by streams - was highlighted by Brian James, ESA officer with Defra.

One featured on the walk and, covered by an SSSI, included good examples of mixed broadleaf woodland - sycamore, ash, hawthorn and larch - and provided important grouse feeding grounds in winter, when harsh weather forced the birds off the tops.

ESA grants of up to 80pc were available to fence off such ghylls to protect them from grazing. Further grants of up to £100/ha were available to plant small woodlands with species such as hazel, hawthorn and rowan and protect them from stock and deer.

* Information on the River Swale Regeneration Project can be found on its web site www.riverswale.org.uk