The Cow and Calf Rocks

Where hast tha bin since I saw thee, I saw thee?
On Ilkley Moor baht’at
Where hast tha bin since I saw thee, I saw thee?
Where hast tha bin since I saw thee?
On Ilkley Moor baht’at
On Ilkley Moor baht’at
On Ilkley Moor baht’at

It’s a song I’ve sung since I were a lad, yet I’ve never been to Ilkley Moor, with our without a hat. With our few precious hours without the kids, my wife suggested we head up there for the afternoon. Ilkley Moor is perhaps as close as a Yorkshireman will get to a place of pilgrimage, and having lived so close to it for the last few years, it feels almost sinful not to have been before now. But repented I have. And I wore a hat.

We drove up to the Cow and Calf Inn for a bite to eat – they do an apple pie to die for – and then it was a short trek up to the Cow and Calf Rocks. The Cow and Calf over-look the town of Ilkley and the scenery is stunning, even on a day like today when a cold wintry haze hung in the air. Snow still showed in places, but most of it had melted and frozen and a lot of the paths were more akin to ice rinks, but it was worth it.

The place had a certain wild charm to it in the winter weather, but I can finally say I’ve been. And I shall be visiting again.