Our artist Les Packham MBE paints the town and writer Gillian Smallwood Savours its attractions

IT’S not surprising that Ilkley is a popular place. After all, the attractive West Yorkshire town knows how to welcome visitors; it’s been doing so for at least a couple of hundred years. Ilkley’s fame has spread far and wide largely because one of the world’s most recognised tunes, On Ilkla Moor Baht’at, which translates as On Ilkley Moor Without a Hat, has become Yorkshire’s unofficial anthem. As a result thousands have been drawn to the superb swathe of moorland celebrated in the song, but Ilkley has other blessings too.

Water played a major part in the town’s development in the 18th century when the spring at White Wells attracted visitors from far and wide. In the following century the Victorians flocked to ‘take the waters’ and Ilkley gained a reputation as a spa town. There’s a curious link with one eminent Victorian, the naturalist Charles Darwin, and last year the town celebrated the 200th anniversary of his birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book ‘On the Origin of Species.’ Darwin was unwell, possibly due to exhaustion from writing his book or from a parasite he’d picked up on his travels, when he arrived in Ilkley in the autumn of 1859. He’d come for a rest cure – one treatment involved swaddling him in sheets saturated in ice cold water for three or four hours (it’s a wonder he didn’t freeze to death). Anyway, he left Ilkley after a stay of about two months, and as far as I’m aware that was that until nine years ago when local people decided that they wanted to promote the town’s link with the great man in a tangible way. So, with spades, forks and rakes they set about making a natural garden on a neglected area of sloping land next to Wells House and when it was finished they named it Darwin Gardens Millennium Green in his honour. Novelist Jilly Cooper, who spent part of her childhood in Ilkley, officially opened the gardens on Midsummer Day, 24th June 2000.

I found it quite a steep walk up from The Grove, Ilkley’s main shopping street, to the gardens but it was worth it. There are monuments with an evolutionary theme and a maze that’s been designed using influences from the famous Swastika Stone carving on Ilkley Moor. A stream runs down through the gyhll in the gardens and as summer approaches marsh marigolds, flag iris and honeysuckle will be in bloom. There’s a much wider stretch of water that flows gently through the centre of Ilkley, the river Wharfe which has a warm, dark hue. It’s been described as the colour of a pint of Yorkshire bitter and a short distance from the bank I found the Lido. One of only four open-air public swimming pools in Yorkshire it was opened in May 1935 as part of King George V’s Silver Jubilee celebrations.

Visiting on a bitterly cold day, when the pool was empty and the gates were closed, I didn’t see it at its best. On a hot summer’s day, between May and September, with water spraying from the ‘wedding cake’ fountain and a cool drink or ice cream served at the art deco style café I’m sure it’s an idyllic spot to take the plunge or soak up the sun. When it’s a blazing hot day the Lido attracts as many as 4,000 swimmers and sun-seekers. The path behind the Lido leads to Middleton Woods, worth visiting any time of the year but especially next month when you’ll be welcomed by a carpet of bluebells.

Across the valley from the Lido, perched high on the edge of Ilkley Moor is the town’s most famous landmark, the Cow and Calf Rocks.  According to legend the Calf was split from the Cow when the giant Rombald was striding across the valley from Almscliffe Crag, caught his foot on the Cow and broke off the Calf.  The 50ft sheer rock face of the Cow is popular with rock climbers and abseilers. Some say there was also a Bull, but there’s no proof of this claim. Three years ago this summer 500 acres of the moor was destroyed by fire but Bradford Council, which manages it, has worked hard on ways to finance its restoration.

With its summer festival, lovely moorland, liquid assets, wide, tree-lined streets and quality shops, cafes and restaurants Ilkley is a town that I take my hat off to any day!

Ilkley items

• Ilkley folk are called Olicanians from Olicana, the name of the Roman fort that Ilkley is built upon.
• There are more than 200 ‘cup and ring’ marked stones on Ilkley Moor and the most famous is the Swastika Stone. The meaning of the carving on these prehistoric rocks is unknown.
• In 1756 Squire Middleton built walls around a moorland spring where patients could bathe and drink the pure cold water. Today the cottage, White Wells, houses a café and there’s also a spa bath open to view.
• The water temperature at Ilkley Lido starts at around 14 degrees Celsius and rises to 22 degrees at its peak.
• Chef Marco Pierre White trained at Ilkley’s Michelin starred Box Tree Restaurant.
• Perennial favourite, gardener, author and chat show host Alan Titchmarsh was born in Ilkley and you can read what he has to say about the place by clicking here to visit the People section of this site.

Les Packham is one of Yorkshire’s foremost watercolour artists and has an unrivalled selection of town and village scenes and landscapes. His work can be bought as original paintings or as limited edition prints. For more information on Les Packham’s paintings ring 01924 364325; e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; or visit www.lespackham.co.uk