Haworth to Ilkley

27 June 2011 - Haworth to Ilkley

Distance - 13.4 miles

Weather - Very hot!

We stayed at - Rombalds Hotel & Restaurant, West View, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 9JG 

Cost - £90.00

View from hotel room window

We remembered to buy sweets this time, along with a pie for lunch, before heading back down the hill again and steeply up the other side to Brow Moor.

We skirted the moors for the first half of the day, along tracks, through fields and pretty hamlets, firstly overlooking Keighley, then leaving it behind as we headed towards Bingley. 

A steep path down took us across the river Aire, just avoiding Bingley itself, then up to the Liverpool and Leeds canal. We followed this past a 3 step lock and then the famous - in canalling circles - 5 step lock. This is one of the wonders of the canalling world. The gate for one lock is also the gate for the next lock. It's quite a daunting thing, and there's a lock keeper to give instructions. More importantly for us, at the top was a cafe, which sold ice cream and teas. This provided our day's refreshments as we sat in the sunshine. 

5 step locks at Bingley

Coming the other way along the canal was a group raising cash for Help For Heroes who had just walked the 111 miles from Liverpool. I really would hate to walk that far on the flat. Yuk. Eventually we continued along the canal, then up to the village of Mickelthwaite. Almost every house has what at first appears to be a 'for sale sign' up. In fact it was a local campaign to prevent development on a stretch of canal which has a field. They say it will be a disaster for the wildlife and their environment.

   

Up from Mickelthwaite and onto Bingley Moor, which is proper moor walking, it seems you're miles from civilisation, it feels properly 'Wuthering Heights.' The towns aren't really very far - they're all hidden in valleys so you can't see them. It was hot walking along here, mostly dry underfoot and with a lovely cooling breeze. 

Walking across the moor

At last we reached Ilkley Moor and sung the obligatory song, although we kept our hats firmly on, protecting us from that sun. In fact the Bingley and Ilkley Moors are small constituent parts of Rombalds Moor, which is huge.

We descended off the moor, down into Ilkley itself, which Alistair found far posher than he'd imagined. Our hotel was the 'Best Western' and we were expecting a modern, box-like hotel, but it turned out to be a graceful  Georgian sandstone building. Our room was well appointed, with two large sash windows looking out into the beautiful tree-lined avenue. We explored Ilkley and had tea in a lovely little Italian restaurant. The town is a little "chainey", but away from the centre there are art shops and local specialist shops. Not a Poundland to be seen!