Old Crack & Rackety Jack – On Ilkla Moor Baht’ At.

I’m a Lancashire lass that lives in the heart of Yorkshire; From the lofty heights of the Bramley hill that our house was built on there’s a good view of the surrounding area, including a place just over the way called Rombald’s Moor. And nestled at the foot of this moor is a little town called Ilkley.

Billy the Bulli at the Cow and Calf Rocks, Ilkley.

After addressing recent symptoms of van flu Mr Other Half decided that Billy the Bulli needed a bit of a run out – just to make sure that all was truly well in the engine bay. So Ilkley Moor (an area of the larger Rombald’s Moor), and home of the famous Cow and Calf rocks, was our destination for the day.

A light packed lunch.

Billy’s kitchen isn’t quite so well equipped as Vince Bully Bus’.

Happily, Mr OH is a bit of a whizz with all things VW and Billy performed exceptionally well without a hitch; even a rather long and steep road that formed part of our ascent was no match for our trusty little bulli 😉

Billy has a rest in the car park whilst me and Mr OH tackle a short climb up to the top of the ‘cow’.

The Cow and Calf or Hangingstone rocks are so called because one is big and the other small – rather like a mother cow and its baby. Yorkshire folk certainly don’t mince their words when it comes to calling a spade a spade, but I much prefer the local legend of a giant named Rombald, who split the stones whilst fleeing from his angry wife – surely that tale has a certain ring of truth about it; either way, it makes for a much more exciting explanation than the scientific fact that the rocks are actually just glacial debris left over from the last Ice Age.

The Cow and Calf.

The rocks are a form of sandstone known as Millstone Grit; most are covered with carved inscriptions from previous visitors to the area – a tradition that has seemingly existed for thousands of years with Rombald’s Moor containing the second highest concentration of ancient carved stones in the whole of Europe.

19th Century carved inscriptions on the rocks.

A local soldier leaves his mark on one of the stones of Rombald’s Moor – whilst the Spa town of Ilkley (Olicana in Roman times) nestles quietly down below.

The Swastika Stone – Dating back to the late Neolithic Bronze Age

Old Crack & Rackety Jack – What magnificent names for someone’s cherished rides!

A bit of a moorland hike and gentle climb, one packed lunch of assorted sandwiches, two cups of coffee each and a rather nice ice cream cone dressed with a Cadbury’s Flake and chocolate sauce drizzles saw us eventually bid farewell to the scenes of our latest adventure. We had survived a romp on Ilkley moor without a hat – unlike Mary Jane’s suitor who succumbs to the worms through poor wardrobe choices if the famous Yorkshire anthem is anything to go by!

Yorkshire lyrics Wheear ‘ast tha bin sin’ ah saw thee, ah saw thee? On Ilkla Mooar baht ‘at Wheear ‘ast tha bin sin’ ah saw thee, ah saw thee? Wheear ‘ast tha bin sin’ ah saw thee? On Ilkla Mooar baht ‘at On Ilkla Mooar baht ‘at On Ilkla Mooar baht ‘at Tha’s been a cooartin’ Mary Jane Tha’s bahn’ to catch thy deeath o` cowd Then us’ll ha’ to bury thee Then t’worms’ll come an` eyt thee up Then t’ducks’ll come an` eyt up t’worms Then us’ll go an` eyt up t’ducks Then us’ll all ha’ etten thee That’s wheear we get us ooan back

Translation Where have you been since I last saw you, last saw you? On Ilkley Moor without a hat Where have you been since I last saw you, last saw you? Where have you been since I last saw you? On Ilkley Moor without a hat On Ilkley Moor without a hat On Ilkley Moor without a hat You have been courting Mary Jane You are bound to catch your death of cold Then we will have to bury you Then the worms will come and eat you up Then the ducks will come and eat up the worms Then we will go and eat up the ducks Then we will have eaten you That’s where we get our own back

Ilkley Moor – Be sure to take your hat!

The return journey home was equally hitch free and even saw us pulling up at a local ale house for the obligatory dust busting pint before finally tucking Billy up for the night in his cozy little garage; what a lucky little bulli he is!

Two pints of lager and a packet of Pork Scratchings please!

Now off to make a suitable hat should we return any time soon – hope the wrist can stand up to the challenge!