Cow and Calf at Ilkley

Cow Calf Rocks Ilkley Moore

An unplanned lazy lie in and poor visabillity meant we weren't able to do the walk we had planned to do last week. We headed up to Ilkley Moor anyway, just to stretch the legs and get some air.

Parking as near to the Cow and Calf rocks as we could (this is evidently a popular weekend destination, as this was further than we would have liked), we changed shoes and set off. Neither 'climbed' nor 'walked' would be an accurate description of how we made our ascent, messily and laboriously may be more accurate.  The top of the rocks themselves are not more than a 5 minute walk from the completely full car parks below but there are several places further up the road where you can leave the car if, like us, you leave it all rather late!

The rocks were fascinating. A variety of carefully carved etchings, both contemporary and old including many dated in the early 1800s, were scattered over the irregular surfaces of the Cow and Calf rocks. In fact, there are reportedly a number of engravings throughout Ilkley Moor thought to date from either the late Neolithic or the Bronze Age, and Rombald's Moor (of which Ilkley Moor is part) is considered to hold the second highest concentration of ancient carved stones in Europe.

After spending a considerable amount of time walking around and examining the rocks we walked back down (disturbing a couple of red grouse on the way) towards the Cow and Calf Hotel where we stopped for a customary pint. I opted for a Black sheep (Black Sheep Brewery, Masham). The busy bar staff were friendly and the slightly crowded pub had a nice atmosphere, despite food clearly being the priority of this establishment.

The Ilkley Moor area is an intriguing landscape which clearly holds many points of interest. I will certainly be revisiting, just a little earlier next time, with a dinner table reservation at the pub for our return!

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