Ilkley Moor

How to get to Ilkley Moor?

I’ll begin with a little bit of advice about Ilkley Moor. It is absolutely COVERED in paths. Paths that are on the map, paths that aren’t on the map. Paths that appear in winter, get overgrown by heather and bracken in the summer and paths that look insignificant on a map, are great wide tracks in reality. As such, the best advice I can give you when navigating Ilkley Moor, is to use the features around you to help! However, as confusing as it can get on Ilkley Moor, because there are so many paths, as long as you know where you’re headed, there’s probably a path going in that direction!! On our moorland walks, I always recommend using a map in combination with a GPS.

1. Beginning at White Wells Car Park, take the wide stony track heading upwards towards the historic building. Just before reaching White Wells, you will see a mini waterfall to your right, you can take a walk down the path next to the waterfall on your route back or if you’d prefer a less scrambly route, then there is an alternative. Now, head onwards and upwards to White Wells where you can spend some time soaking up the history of the building (whilst the kids run loops around it of course….) and maybe even grab yourself a brew! The spa room is open to take a look around.

2. Once you’ve had your fill, head up the wide track which heads up behind the spa building (it runs upwards between White Wells and the public toilets. You will need to follow this wide and obvious stony track up until you reach the base of Ilkley Crags where the path steeply climbs upwards on steps to the top. Once you get the top, the terrain will flatten out a bit and you need to take the Dales Way Link path that leads you straight on, headed southwards. Ignore any offshoots to the left and right, you need to head onwards, keeping the town of Ilkley roughly at your back.

3. The path crosses a little stream and will soon become flagged. I like to refer to this as the Ilkley Moor pavement, because….. well it looks like a pavement! This will gently rise towards the top plateau of Ilkley Moor and Lanshaw Lad.

4. At Lanshaw Lad, if you’re feeling super fancy, you might want to take a little detour to the left where you can find the Twelve Apostles, which is a prehistoric stone circle. It will add around 1km to your total length, and if you do, you need to double back on yourself to return to this point.

5. At Lanshaw Lad, you need to turn right and stick to the Ilkley Moor pavement. After around 1km, the flagged path will take you straight past the Trig Point for Ilkley Moor, which is on your right.

6. Then shortly after on your left, you’ll notice two flat flags, just off path (aptly located right next to a puddle, dependant on how dry it’s been! Because, more often than not, there is a permanent puddle here!) This is the puddle stone! One of The Stanza Stones located on Ilkley Moor. Take some time to read the poetry written on it by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage.

7. If you continue a little further along the plateau, sticking to the flagged path, you will walk straight past the Thimble Stones, which are a weirdly shaped natural rock formation on your left. These are The Thimble Stones. Otherwise known as ‘the wrinkly rocks’ (actually just probably by us!) But they are super wrinkly on account of the erosion. They are great for climbing, great for looking at, laying on and generally marvelling at!

8. Once you have scrambled to your heart’s content, you need to carry on along the flagged path, until is peters out to a wide stony track. Soon, it will join the old Ilkley/Keighley road, which is a very wide old Roman road, which used to link the two towns together. Turn right onto this, and follow it as it descends towards Ilkley. Soon, on your left you will see a stone cross, positioned just off the track. Take a little detour for a closer look, this it the Cowper Cross, a 12th century stone cross erected by the side of the old road. Once you have checked it out, follow the track until you reach a public footpath sign and a conveniently positioned bench!

9. Follow the route here down the grassy path, taking in the views of the old remnants of the disused quarries which used to operate at Grainings Head (now grassy craters) and Spicey Gill.

10. The path will eventually re-join the Ilkley/ Keighley road briefly, before there is an offshoot path down to the right, which crosses a footbridge over Spicey Gill. Cross this and head back up the bank on the other side. The path passes a pine tree cluster on your right (ace for pine cone collecting, and also possibly magical…… it doesn’t appear on the map, so we’ve always said it moves, a la Tolkein’s LOTR Ents! Can you convince your littles of the same?!)

11. Here, you have a choice. If you fancy a little wander to a cup and ring marked rock, which involves an easy scrambly path next to the waterfall you passed on the way up, then keep walking straight on, keeping the pine cone woods to your right. If not, you can take the path that descends leftwards, which heads back in the direction of White Wells Car Park (there are many so take your pick!)

12. Assuming you fancy a bit more of an explore, then keep onwards until you reach another pine tree cluster and a little stream. The path heads left towards a gigantic cup and ring marked rock in the middle of the trees. Head towards this and have a look. The little dimples in the rock are what remains of some prehistoric rock carvings! Keep heading downwards through the trees, across the little stream, and you will see that the water disappears over a short drop. There is a little path that makes for an easy scramble to the base of the very pretty mini waterfall! Then, it will descend down the lower part of the falls, and take you back to the track where you began!

Last walked January 2023