23rd Feb 2014 - Ilkley
A-Walk to Beamsley Beacon & Round Hill – about 12 miles with 1500’ of ascent
From Ilkley follow the Dales Way to the footbridge at Addingham. Go over the footbridge and to the Ilkley/Beamsley road and continue straight on for 200 yards (182m) up the road to a footpath sign on a bend. The route carries on up the hillside bridleway to emerge through a farmyard on to the Langbar road. Turn left up the winding road and, at the highest point, strike up the well worn moor path (right) to Beamsley Beacon to gain spectacular views up the dale.
Return to the road and, after 200 yards (182m), keep straight on along a rough track. This is known as Badgers Gate (badger here meaning a pedlar). Follow the ancient route above the intake wall, curving round slightly, then striking out past an ancient milestone on an easy to follow track that comes out at Hill Top Farm, Middleton. Go down the surfaced lane through the hamlet of Middleton, crossing Slates Lane and down Curly Hill. The last part of the walk can be made down through Middleton Woods to the riverside and back to Ilkley New Bridge.
The mapped route continues NE to Round Hill which is slightly higher than Rombalds Moor, the SSW to Badgers Gate which is crossed for an alternative route back. This adds about one mile to the described route.
A-Walk around Rombalds Moor – about 13 miles with 1800’ of ascent
This walk beginning in Ilkley takes a extensive tour of Rombalds Moor. The moor forms a natural barrier between Airedale and Wharfedale with Skipton and Keighley on the Airedale side and Ilkley on the Wharfedale side. The moor is home to lots of smaller moors named after the towns and villages surrounding the moor. Therefore on Rombalds Moor you will find Addingham High Moor, Ilkley Moor, Burley Moor, Hawksworth Moor, Morton Moor and Bingley Moor. Quite a family Rombalds has! Rombalds Moor has been home to man for a very long time and while it is mainly used for recreational purposes now the moor was once home to hunters of the Mesolithic age (11,000 - 9,000 BC) and then farmers of the Neolithic age (7,000 - 2,000 BC). Bronze age and early Celtic people then made their mark on the moor by making carvings into the stone, much of which remains today. The walk visits some of these ancient places as I made an anti-clockwise tour of the moor.
B Walk – about 9 miles with 1200’ of ascent
From Ilkley, climb onto Rombalds Moor to White Wells, continue along the old bronze age track to visit the Swastika Stone, Noon Stone and onto Black Hill; descend via Addingham Moorside towards Cocking End and the River Wharfe and return along the Dales Way to Ilkley. Good views weather permitting. In red on the map.