The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England with a small part in North Yorkshire (before 1974, some of the area was in the West Riding of Yorkshire). Once described as the "Switzerland of England", it has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) since 1964. It is used for walking and cycling, though it is relatively unfrequented by tourists.