COLLABORATION between environmentalists has brought a £22,950 grant to aid research into the archaeological secrets of the Nidd Gorge, between Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Bilton Conservation Group, Knox Valley Residents' Association and Knaresborough Civic Society, whose volunteers help oversee the gorge, got together to persuade the Countryside Agency to make a Local Heritage Initiative grant.

Part of the cash could be used to investigate what some experts believe could be the remains of an Iron Age hill fort, 200ft above the winding river, close to Scotton Banks.

Project co-ordinator Keith Wilkinson said the ancient tracks in the gorge and its rich wildlife were enjoyed by thousands, but little work had been done on archaeological interpretation.

"We want to change that, and this money will give us the chance to do it.

"With the help of local volunteers, Harrogate Army Foundation College and the Woodland Trust, which now owns much of the land, we can improve access, erect waymarkers and interpretive boards and produce explanatory leaflets.

"We can look closely at Gates Hill where there are traces of what could have been the ramparts and ditches of an Iron Age hill fort, from where, a long time later, it is believed cannon were fired at Knaresborough Castle during the Civil War."

Mr Wilkinson, chairman of Bilton Conservation Group, said the range of work to be tackled was ambitious, but added: "It is an opportunity for the people of the two towns to unite in protection of their common heritage - and to do it in a hands-on way by volunteering their services."