March/April 2004
People

Dales experience for Albanians

A University academic has helped visitors from Albania on a fact-finding mission through the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Antonia Young, of the University's Research Unit in South East European Studies (recently incorporated into the Department of Peace Studies), hosted the visit that included six Albanians and two with Montenegrin concerns.

As part of the programme, the group visited Malham, Grassington, Hubberholme and Scargill.

In Malham, they were welcomed by Alan Hulme and Cat Kilner from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, who showed them Malham Cove and the Information Centre.

After a traditional pub lunch they visited a gift shop, a youth hostel and a number of barn conversions as well as the Kirkby Malham Primary school.

Antonia said: "They were especially impressed by the wide involvement of local schoolchildren in such projects as tree planting, bridge construction and their stonework designs."

A second day was spent walking in the Dales with Richard Hargreaves of Hawkswick, who also gave a slide presentation to them in the evening at Grassington Town Hall. His presentation was of his trek through the Balkan regions in July 2003.

These visitors are working on a project to create a cross-border Peace Park between Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania.

16 April 2004

next

top of page