Ilkley Moor ~ Medium Walk

Distance Covered: 4 miles Time to Complete Walk 2 hours

Suitable for dog walking: Yes 

This is a popular walk on Ilkley Moor, which heads towards the 12 Apostles stone circle from the Bronze Age and then returning back to the Cow and Calf Rocks a very impressive rock formation. Parking can be found at the Cow and Calf cafe, however this does get very busy at weekends. Theres plenty of other parking available though on the roadside after the Cow and Calf Hotel and pub.

General Safety Tips: The road below the moor can get busy. Take care when crossing the road. The moor can get muddy and boggy. Wear good walking boots. Dress for the weather on the moors.

                                                                    The Ilkley Moor walk

Getting There

From Middlesbrough, head down the A19 onto the M1 southbound. Take the turn off towards Leeds and Bradford airport which is the A59. When you arrive at Pool in Wharfedale turn right and head onto the A659 through Otley. Head out of Otley and turn right at the roundabout onto the A660 passing through Burley in Wharfedale into Ilkley. Take a left turn onto the B6382. You will be able to see the Cow and Calf rocks as you drive up the winding road to the top. 

                                                                Maps of the Ilkley Moor Walk

Park at the Cow and Cafe car park or on the roadside and head past the Cow and Calf pub.

Look for public path sign to your right and climb up to the moor above.

Double back to the right and head upwards towards the overhanging rock above.

At the top on the Moor turn right onto a path and continue on the park passing a bench. The paths can be confusing. As you are heading to the 12 Apostles this is done by heading to the Dales Path. Always use Google Maps on your phone if you are unsure.

Head along the path passing a boulder.

Head down the path towards a stream with concrete sides. You need to cross over the stream onto the path on the other side. Do this by crossing over at the bottom of the stream. Dont try and jump over to the other side.

Head to the left on the path on the other side. 

Head along the path passing a stone seating area - great for a pitstop!

Follow the path over the stream and emerge onto a flagged path.

Pass an information board and keep ahead on the path.

Arrive at the 12 disciples stone circle a great place to stop and have a breather.

Head back the way you came, over the stream, however keep left at a fork in the path this time.

Head past a waymarked post and a stone cairn.

When you arrive at the crossroads, turn right along the path.

Head over a stream with some large rocks.

On the path double back and head towards the Cow and Calf rocks which are very impressive.

Head left towards some trees on a grass track.

Keep on this track as it descends downwards.

Look for a path on your right which gives you a path that heads down to a concrete path below.

On the path below turn right and follow this path to a signpost.

Head down to the busy road below and over to the pavement on the other side.

Follow this path back to the Cow and Calf cafe or roadside parking.

Ilkley Moor

During the Carboniferous period (325 million years ago), Ilkley Moor was part of a sea-level swampy area fed by meandering river channels coming from the north. The layers in the eroded bank faces of stream gullies in the area represent sea levels with various tides depositing different sorts of sediment. Over a long period, the sediments were cemented and compacted into hard rock layers. Geological forces lifted and tilted the strata a little towards the south-east, producing many small fractures, or faults. Since the end of the Carboniferous period more than a thousand metres of coal-bearing rocks have been completely removed from the area by erosion. During the last million years, Ice Age glaciers modified the shape of the Wharfe valley, deepening it, smoothing it, and leaving behind glacial debris. The millstone grit not only gives character to the town of Ilkley but gives the area its acid soils, heather moors, soft water, and rocky scars.

To the north, where the moor drops steeply towards the village of Ben Rhydding, a satellite of the town of Ilkley, are two millstone grit rock climbing areas: Rocky Valley and Ilkley Quarry.

Ilkley Quarry is the site of the famous "Cow and Calf", a large rock formation consisting of an outcrop and boulder, also known as Hangingstone Rocks. The rocks are made of millstone grit, a variety of sandstone, and are so named because one is large, with the smaller one sitting close to it, like a cow and calf. Legend has it that there was once also a "bull", but that was quarried for stone during the spa town boom that Ilkley was part of in the 19th century. However, none of the local historians have provided any evidence of the Bull's existence.

According to legend, the Calf was split from the Cow when the giant Rombald was fleeing an enemy and stamped on the rock as he leapt across the valley. The enemy, it is said, was his angry wife. She dropped the stones held in her skirt to form the local rock formation The Skirtful of Stones.