About Muker's Wildflower Meadows 

The wildflower meadows surrounding the village of Muker are some of the finest examples of upland hay meadows in the UK. For farmers, the meadows’ hay crop is part of a traditional cycle of activity that stretches back many hundreds of years. For conservationists, the meadows’ confusion of rare flowers and grasses is recognised and valued as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).  For visitors, the abundance of flowers and their dramatic setting provides a feast for the eyes and food for the soul. It’s impossible to return from a walk through the meadows not feeling uplifted and inspired.

Upland hay meadows have been an integral part of the traditional farming cycle in Upper Swaledale for hundreds of years. In many ways they exemplify how the long partnership between nature and human endeavour created the Dales landscape we know and love. The meadows produce fodder for the livestock, with each field barn (properly called a cow’us) providing a place to both store the hay and to keep the cows over the winter months.  With the arrival of the Ferguson T20 (Little Grey Fergie) and the quad bike many cow’uses fell into disuse, but the hay produced in the meadows remains a vital crop. 

During the 1950s & 60s attempts were made to maximise food production. Farmers were asked to spray the fields and use artificial fertiliser to remove “weeds” and therefore increase the grass yield. That the meadows at Muker are as they are is due to Farmers like the Raws of Lane Farm, who resisted these attempts, instead sticking to trusted traditional farming methods. 

In 2013 four of Muker’s meadows, Far Field, Middle Field, Brunkskill Field and Neds Long Ing, were designated Coronation Meadows. “These ‘jewels in the crown’ are places where people can enjoy a riot of colour and an abundance of wildlife in settings that have remained largely unchanged since the Coronation”.