[2] The highest point in the Nidderdale AONB is Great Whernside, 704 metres (2,310 ft) above sea level, on the border with the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

In 1947, when the Hobhouse Report recommended the creation of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, it proposed that Nidderdale should be excluded and given a different conservation status.

[5] The eastern boundary of the National Park had been set at East Witton, as recommended by the Hobhouse Report.

The section of Wensleydale below East Witton had not been considered for national park status, but was added to the new AONB.

The southern part of the AONB includes the reservoirs of the Washburn Valley, Lindley Wood, Swinsty, Fewston and Thruscross.

The AONB Web site provides directions for popular walks, but also offers information on canoeing and kayaking, caving, climbing, cycling, fishing and horse riding.

[14] Like most AONBs, and unlike national parks, the Nidderdale AONB is managed by local authorities through the Joint Advisory Committee, "a partnership organisation made up of elected representatives from the local authority and parish councils, and representatives from landowning and community interest groups".