Ilkley's Cow and Calf Rocks - the ultimate symbol of The Sunday Times' best place to live in the UK

Picture: James Hardisty. Words: John Blow.

The Cow and Calf Rocks at Ilkley are the town’s ultimate symbol – and will likely get even more visitors after the spot received headlines last week.

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The 2022 edition of the annual Best Places to Live Guide included three new entries from Yorkshire – all of them villages – but Ilkley impressed writers so much that it has topped the national list. The town did not feature in the guide at all between 2014 and 2020, but made a return last year after editors realised its extensive list of attributes and strong sense of community spirit.

Picture: James Hardisty.Picture: James Hardisty.
Picture: James Hardisty.

Ilkley has been highlighted nationally for community efforts in winning bathing water status for the River Wharfe while campaigning for Yorkshire Water to reduce sewage discharges to allow for safe wild swimming.

Guide editor Tim Palmer said that Ilkley is “one of the few places where you can manage better without a car than with one. You can even walk to the supermarket. The town is really behind people like the bathing water campaigners.

“West Yorkshire has been getting better and better since we started the guide 10 years ago, especially compared to North Yorkshire.”

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High up on Ilkley Moor, the Cow and Calf Rocks are a large rock formation consisting of an outcrop and boulder, also known as Hangingstone Rocks. The rocks are made of millstone grit, a variety of sandstone, and take their name from the appearance: one is large, with the smaller one sitting close to it, like a cow and calf.

According to local legend, says Visit Bradford, the Calf was split from the Cow when the giant Rombald was fleeing an enemy, and stamped on the rock as he leapt across the valley.

The enemy, it is rumoured, was his angry wife.

She dropped the stones held in her skirt to form the local rock formation The Skirtful of Stones.

The rocks are a must-see for anyone visiting that part of West Yorkshire or during a hike on Ilkley Moor – and with spring settling in it’ll soon be the time of year to take advantage of it.

Technical details: Nikon D4, 24mm lens, 1/500th at f5.6, ISO 200.