Plan your trip
Getting there and walks
Easy to reach from Leeds and Bradford, and walking country the moment you step out of the station.
By train
Ilkley is the terminus of a branch of the Wharfedale line, with regular direct trains from Leeds and Bradford Forster Square, calling at stations such as Ben Rhydding and Burley-in-Wharfedale. The station is right in the town centre. Check National Rail or the operator, Northern, for times.
By bus
Buses link Ilkley with Otley, Keighley, Skipton, Leeds and other nearby towns; routes and operators change, so check current timetables with West Yorkshire Metro.
By car
Ilkley sits on the A65 between Leeds and Skipton, roughly 16 miles north-west of Leeds. There are pay-and-display car parks in the town centre and near the Cow and Calf and the riverside, which fill up on sunny weekends. Arriving by train is often easier.
Classic walks
- Town to White Wells and the Tarn: a short, steep climb from the centre to the spa cottage, with views over Wharfedale. Ilkley Tarn is a nearby pond, popular with families.
- Cow and Calf circuit: link White Wells, Rocky Valley and the Cow and Calf along the moor edge.
- Twelve Apostles: head up onto the high moor to the Bronze Age stone circle; exposed in bad weather, so take a map.
- Swastika Stone and Woodhouse Crag: a moor-edge walk west towards Heber's Ghyll.
- Riverside and Stepping Stones: a flat stroll along the Wharfe from the Old Bridge.
- The Dales Way: this long-distance path starts at Ilkley's Old Bridge and runs around 80 miles to Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District. See the Dales Way Association.