MILES of key traditional features of the North York Moors are set to be restored after grants totalling £64,400 were awarded to farmers and landowners.

The National Park Authority’s Traditional Boundary Scheme funding will support the restoration of over 2,600 square metres of dry stone wall, the planting of 2,330 metres of hedgerow plus around 560 metres of coppicing and laying of existing hedgerow.

In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, the traditional features provide boundary markers and shelter for stock, help to reduce soil erosion and provide homes for wildlife across the park, which is aiming to link up and improve important habitats.

A North York Moors National Park Authority spokeswoman said various dry stone walls in the park are believed to go back to the Iron Age or earlier, with some on the coast being noted from Viking times, while some of our hedgerows are remnants of ancient woodland margins.

She said: "In addition to supporting our local farms and benefitting wildlife, upkeeping our walls and hedges has an economic element too in making the area more appealing to visitors."

Martin Dawson-Brown, who has received a grant to lay 194 metres of hawthorn, wild rose, field maple, wild pear and honeysuckle hedgerow at Cropton, near Pickering, said the funding was vital to ensure the bird population thrived as the hedge was not covered by his stewardship agreement.

Farmer Brian Hope, of Sutton Bank, who has received funding to restore 260 metres of dry stone wall, said the grant had transformed a dilapidated eyesore into a good secure boundary for his stock.