The bridge on display at the Leyburn festival

Craftsmen have made an unusual donation to a national park: a drystone bridge.

The bridge, made from local limestone and sandstone, was originally built by members of the Otley & Yorkshire Dales branch of the Dry Stone Walling Association as a demonstration of their skills at a festival in spring at Leyburn in Wensleydale.

It will be relocated 12km (7½ miles) to the West over Eller Beck near Carperby.

The Wensleydale branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England has funded the cost of rebuilding the bridge to the tune of £2,500.

Paul Sheehan, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s access ranger for Lower Wensleydale, suggested the site – which is owned by the authority and is a local nature reserve, a special area for conservation and part of the Ox Close site of special scientific interest. He obtained the necessary permission from the Environment Agency and Natural England and helped with the groundwork.

“We are very grateful to the association members for their fantastic gift and to the CPRE for providing the funding,” he said.

“It will be welcomed by all the walkers who use the route.

“At the moment the beck is crossed on a clapper bridge – a series of stones in the water with stone slabs across the top of them.

“Unfortunately it often gets submerged in times of heavy rain, which makes it dangerous to use, and it also causes the river water to back up and flood the nearby car park.”

John Heslegrave of the association said he and a group of other members went on a bridge-building masterclass before starting work on their showpiece for the Leyburn festival.

He said: “It isn’t often that there’s a demand for a dry stone bridge these days so we were very pleased to create the opportunity to relearn such ancient skills.

“It’s a good combination of people who want to do it and the national park having a site where it would be useful.

“Eleven members have volunteered and we will be taking care with every stone to make sure it’s done correctly so it will stay up for a long time.”

Kristin Whalley, the CPRE chairman, said “This is an excellent example of the traditional skill of drystone wall construction being used for a long-standing practical purpose.

“The bridge is on a well-walked footpath through an area rich in wildflowers and grasses in a prominent position alongside the Askrigg-Carperby road.

“Built using reclaimed sandstone and newly quarried Wensleydale limestone, it will enhance what is already a beautiful Dales landscape.”

Work will begin on August 10 and should be finished within about two weeks, weather permitting.