By Philip Sedgwick

A WENSLEYDALE woman has developed her own on line travel business in order to provide niche tourism in the Yorkshire Dales and beyond.

Having lived in the Yorkshire Dales for over 20 years, including attending school in Leyburn and working for her parents at the Wensleydale Heifer, Emma Dale caught the travel bug.

Spending the past seven years travelling the world and working overseas, she spends the winters as a resort manager in the French Alps and summers completing contract work cooking for families or working on hotel barges also in France. In between all of this, she travels anywhere in the world.

Now she has created a concept, “Emmas Dale”, which provides fully-catered for experience retreats within the Yorkshire Dales and on occasions, beyond. The retreats incorporate unique local accommodation, fun activities and learning, good food and being able to be yourself.

Ms Dale said: “With Emmas Dale I wanted to share my love of travel, the Dales, trying new experiences and meeting like-minded individuals along with using my hospitality and customer service experience.

“It is a new venture, which I want to build upon and encourage people who love to travel but are maybe apprehensive to go alone. It is quite a self-centred business in that everything that I put together, is based on things I love to do and want to share.

“I think the Yorkshire Dales is often overlooked and even with its harsh winters it is always beautiful and intriguing.”

She has also nominated two charities which will receive £5 from every booking made with her: Emmaus, a homeless charity and the EIA, which investigates environmental crime and orchestrates campaigns to protect the environment.

The first experience retreats are set to commence in May and June this summer. For more information, visit www.emmasdale.co.uk.