Ilkley Moor
Ilkley Moor above the spa town of Ilkley in West Yorkshire is one of the most famous open moors in England, immortalised in the song On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at which has become the unofficial anthem of Yorkshire, a heather and gritstone moorland of Rombalds Moor rising above the Wharfe Valley that provides excellent walking in the characteristic Dark Peak upland tradition with extensive views of Wharfedale and the surrounding hills. The combination of the moorland walking, the Bronze Age rock carvings, the Victorian spa town below and the views create one of the most rewarding urban fringe moorland destinations in northern England.
The Bronze Age cup and ring carvings of the Cow and Calf Rocks and the surrounding moorland at Ilkley represent one of the densest concentrations of prehistoric rock art in northern England, the carved spirals, cups and rings on the gritstone outcrops providing evidence of the ritual landscape that covered this moorland in the second millennium BC. The Twelve Apostles stone circle and various other prehistoric features add to the archaeological interest of the moor.
The Victorian spa town of Ilkley below the moor provides excellent cafes, restaurants and visitor facilities that make it an ideal base for moorland walking, and the combination of the spa town character and the wild moor immediately above creates one of the most complete experiences of the contrast between Victorian English tourism culture and the wild Pennine landscape that surrounded and inspired it.