Monday 31 March 2014

On Ilkley Moor Bah T'at

Yesterday was Mother's Day in the UK. I got some lovely cards and gifts myself, and after a visit to see my mum and drop off her cards and gifts in the morning, we decided to have a run out to Ilkley.


We headed high up on to the moors to the famous Cow and Calf rock formation.





As it was Mother's Day, Daniel decided to grace us with his presence. Boys will be boys and it wasn't long before he was climbing the rocks. It was nice for all four of us to be out together, it doesn't happen that often these days.


Although it was quite warm, a mist had rolled in and it was hard to see the spa town of Ilkley below.




The moors looked quite bleak blanketed in the mist.


There were some small patches of colour here and there. Pretty little narcissus and gorse.



Quite a few people had left their Mother's Day tributes here.


How sad that posters such as this one have to be displayed. This sheep had been mauled by a dog and left to die. It concerns me and never fails to amaze me how many irresponsible dog owners there are. Needless to say, Archie was kept on his lead, though we witnessed many dogs which weren't.


Over the road from the rocks is the Cow and Calf pub. We decided to call for something to eat on the off chance that they'd have a table free, but it was jam packed, people out for Mother's Day lunch I expect. We were really hungry by this time and didn't want to wait until we found another pub, so we stopped off at the chip shop in Ilkley and got fish and chips. A tasty treat.

34 comments:

  1. Give me fish & chips any day. The moors look wonderful I've not been up there for many years.

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    1. There were quite a few visitors to the moors yesterday. Although it doesn't look like it from my photos, it was quite a nice day which must have brought them all out.

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  2. Replies
    1. We did, thank you. I love this part of the country so much.

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  3. This sounds like my kind of Mother's Day. I'm glad you had a good one, Jo.

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    1. My favourite thing is spending time with the family, so as long as we're all together, I'm happy.

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  4. sounds like you had a great day....finished off nicely with fish and chips!

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    1. It was a lovely day, and fish and chips finished it off very nicely.

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  5. That looks, and sounds, like a lovely day out. It's somewhere that I've never been to! Flighty xx

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    1. I love all the Dales towns. Visiting any of these places is my idea of a great day out.

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  6. Hi Jo, just had a catch up read through your posts! Haven't been to Ilkley moor in a while, its a good climb! Like the little garlic hats, at first glance I thought they looked like little meringues or is it my eyesight? York looks good, I used to get the train from Malton when we lived there, and there was always a line at Betty's! And...I loved watching little house, we have read a few of the books, and Gabi likes them which is good. Hope you don't mind me commenting on all of them together instead of each one individually! :)

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    1. I don't mind you commenting in one place at all, thank you for reading back through the posts you've missed. There's so many lovely places to visit around the Dales, it always seems to be a Sunday when we go to Ilkley for some reason. I've never read the Little House books, I really should as I love the programme.

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  7. It looks like you had a lovely day, it was lovely that your son was able to join you. Mine is back in a couple of weeks for three weeks so something to look forward too. Ending with fish & chips too, my ideal Sunday.

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    1. Daniel's home for five weeks for Easter, it's a long holiday and he's had to clear his accommodation completely as they let it out to people attending conferences. He's gone down to Somerset today to visit a friend who he shares a house with, a few of them are meeting up. He was off at 7 this morning and texted me at 3.30 to say he'd just arrived, it's a long way for a couple of days.

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  8. I love going to the Cow and Calf when we visit and I've a lovely photo of the town in full sunlight below, although it is marred by me sitting on the rocks(giggle). Fish and chips sound good when hungry. Take care.

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    1. It's a wonderful view on a clear day. Fish and chips are a favourite here, with scraps and mushy peas of course.

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  9. I'm glad you had a lovely day, Jo, despite the mist! :o)

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    1. It was actually quite warm. We'd had a bit of a haze hanging around for a couple of days.

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  10. Amazing rock formation with wonderful views on a clear day no doubt and the moors are always so atmospheric when there's a mist as well. Fish and chips sounds like a good way to round off your day. Glad you had a good one.

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    1. It's amazing how rock formations such as this came to be and just how long they've been here. The view on a clear day is fantastic, the moor is so high up that you can see for miles.

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  11. Looks like a lovely day. I am from Yorkshire, but have never been to Ilkley, hatless or not! How bad is that ... must go one day! xCathy

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    1. We love the Yorkshire Dales so we're in Ilkley and around that area quite often. Ilkley's a lovely town, you must visit if you get the chance.

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  12. I remember singing "On Ilkley Moor Bah T'at" at school! Such beautiful scenery, what a lovely day out with the family - and fish and chips makes it just perfect.

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    1. A bit of an anthem here in Yorkshire. It was a lovely day out, we've got some wonderful places to visit nearby, we're so lucky.

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  13. Lovely Mother's day! I love the rocks. They always fascinate me!

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    1. It's amazing just how big the rocks are. They can be easily seen from the road which is far down below and seem to draw people to them.

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  14. Replies
    1. We had a lovely day. It was nice that all four of us could be together.

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  15. Years and years ago, as a student, I went rock climbing there ... I'd forgotten all about it until I read your post ... that brought back some memories!

    Glad you had a good day x

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    1. Glad to have brought back some happy memories for you. There were people rock climing on Sunday, and some people far too near the edges of the rocks for my liking too.

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  16. What a lovely treat that all four of you went out for the day and to such a lovely place too. Fish and chips were an excellent choice, no washing up on Mother's day is another good treat.
    Lisa x

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    1. I really cherish the times when all four of us are together now, I know there won't be many times ahead when we are. I love fish and chips, good old comfort food.

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  17. For years I thought Ilkley Moor Bah T'at was the name of the place! And me a Yorkshire girl born and bred!

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    1. Ha ha. I remember singing it at school and the book we were singing from had the meaning underneath the words.

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