On 8th November – the Annual Dinner weekend – I have arranged walks of varying length on the magnificent and mysterious Ilkley/Rombalts/Burley moors (don’t forget your hat!). The walk(s) are not just for dinner attendees, feel free to come along as any normal Rucksack Club meet.
The start of the Ilkley Moor walk(s) has changed to the White Wells car park (free) off Wells Road, Ilkley:
SE115470 What3words: thumbnail.breakfast.helpful There is lots of parking on the lane there as well if needed. For dinner attendees it’s the same 35min drive from the hotel. Start time is 10:00.
This change of car park is due to the Burley Moor Run (fell race) which goes over the east part of the moor on Saturday but will be long gone by the time we get there.
So, the routes (A, B & C) now run anticlockwise and can be summarised as:
A: 14.5 miles. 3 trig points, 3 Stanza stones, an ancient cross, a stone circle, various carved stones/crags and a Georgian spa pool. Coordinators Ian H/Andy L.
B: 10 miles. 2 trig points, 2 Stanza stones, an ancient cross, a stone circle, various carved stones/crags and a Georgian spa pool. Coordinators Gwyn T/Chris M.
C: 7 miles. 1 trig point, 2 Stanza stones, an ancient cross, a stone circle, various carved stones/crags and a Georgian spa pool. Coordinators Geoff E.
For info, if you don’t know about the Stanza Stones, there are 6 of them that form a 47 mile trail from Pule Hill (above Marsden) to Ilkley. They are poems by Simon Armitage the Poet Laureate who was brought up in a hamlet on the side of Pule Hill. The 6 poems have the theme of water – Snow, Rain, Mist, Dew, Puddle and Beck and are quite impressive to see. They are hidden in plain sight, in that you wouldn’t find them unless you knew they were there. I’ve marked the actual positions on the maps with blue arrows.
All three routes return to the cars via White Wells – this is a white building on the hillside and has an original 1700s spa pool which is worth seeing – you are free to take a dip if the mood takes you! There is a cafe in the building as well.
I’ve attached maps. The gpx files are also available – just email me and I’ll send you them.
Hope to see you on Saturday…