The Ilkley Moor Circular Walk from Bingley

Ilkley Moor is one of Yorkshire’s most iconic landscapes – so much so that “On Ilkla Moor Baht ‘at" became the county’s official anthem. This circular walk earns its hard rating: from Crossflatts it heads north through East Morton and past the peaceful reservoir at Sunny Dale, climbing steadily through farmland to the exposed ridge at Keighley Gate. From there the route enters the Bradford Pennine Gateway National Nature Reserve – one of England’s newest NNRs, designated in March 2025 – crossing the open moorland to the 402-metre summit trig point and on to the Neolithic stone circle of the Twelve Apostles. Farmland paths then lead to the legendary walkers’ pub, Dick Hudsons, and down through Lady Lane into Bingley, finishing with the iconic staircase of the Five Rise Locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal before the final stretch back to Crossflatts. The views across the Pennines from the top are genuinely worth every metre of the climb.

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Unfortunately, there are no public toilets on this walk. The nearest public toilets are located on Myrtle Place (by the market square) in Bingley.

There are many shops, cafés, restaurants and pubs in town but below are specifics businesses which we recommend if you go on this walk. Feel free to visit their site and contact them.

These local businesses proudly support Bingley Walkers are Welcome. Look for the WaW logo in their window – walkers are always welcome inside.

A great countryside pub serving delicious food all year round. They are really walkers and dog friendly so don’t hesitate to pay them a visit on this walk!

A charming little café serving dairy ice cream and located in the former stables of the Five Rise Locks.

Last edited: 12th May 2026

Starting from Crossflatts Railway Station, turn right onto Keighley Road and cross the bridge over the railway track and bypass – named in honour of Bingley-born astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle. Just after the bridge on your right, look for an opening in the wall leading onto Ivy Mews. Follow the path through this residential area to the intersection and go straight on along Newark Road to Canal Road. Turn right here and you will join the Leeds and Liverpool Canal – one of England’s great working waterways, usually busy with narrowboats moored along this stretch.

Turn left and follow the canal towpath north. Cross the first swing bridge at Micklethwaite Lane and continue to the second at Morton Lane. Turn right over the swing bridge and look for an opening in the wall just after it. This path leads you away from the canal and up through beautiful fields and meadows to East Morton. On entering the village, turn right onto Dimples Lane then left again onto the path between the houses. At the end, you will reach Main Road – turn left and cross almost immediately to join Green End Road opposite.

Green End Road is a picturesque stone-terraced street typical of the Pennine villages of West Yorkshire. Follow it past the old cemetery on your right to the end of the village, where the road becomes a track. At the fork, turn left onto Upwood Lane – look for the “Weak Bridge – 13T m g w" sign. The lane follows the wall of the old East Morton Hall on your right. At the three-way fork, keep following the wall and take the first right. At the next intersection go straight on along the track through the fields, which leads you to Sunny Dale woods.

Soon you will see the dam – cross it and take the path into the woods on your left. From here you skirt the edge of the reservoir, following the path as it meanders through the trees. It is a lovely, sheltered spot, quite a contrast to the open moorland ahead. Eventually the path emerges onto a farm track – turn left towards Upwood Hall Farm. Before reaching the farm, take the path on the right to avoid going through it. At the end of this path you will reach Ilkley Road.

Turn right onto Ilkley Road, a straight tarmac road that cuts through the moorland fringe, and follow it all the way up to Keighley Gate – also known as Whetstone Gate – where the tarmac ends. You will see the Whetstone Gate communications tower here. Go through the gate and keep right, following the wall along the stone-flagged path onto Ilkley Moor.

The flags beneath your feet tell their own story. In 2012, as part of the Watershed Landscape Heritage Lottery Funded project overseen by Pennine Prospects and supported by the Friends of Ilkley Moor, over 500 tonnes of stone flags were airlifted into place by helicopter – one of the most ambitious moorland footpath restoration projects in the north of England. The aim was to protect strategic routes across the moor and prevent further damage to sensitive habitats. It was actually the second phase of the project: around 300 tonnes had been airlifted the year before.

Along this same stretch, keep an eye out for the Puddle Stones – one of six moorland stones engraved with site-specific poems by Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate, as part of the Stanza Stones Trail. Commissioned by the Ilkley Literature Festival in 2010 and installed in 2012, the trail links six poems on the theme of water carved into stones along a 47-mile walking route from Marsden to Ilkley. Finding the Puddle Stones among the moorland grasses is one of the quieter pleasures of this section.

The path leads steadily to the summit, marked by its unmistakable triangulation pillar at 402 metres – one of the finest viewpoints in West Yorkshire, with the Aire Valley spread out far below and the Pennines stretching to the horizon on a clear day. Continue along the path to an intersection and go straight on. After a short while, turn right to join the Dales Way Link.

You are now close to the Twelve Apostles – a Bronze Age stone circle and one of the most evocative ancient monuments in the north of England, well worth a pause. When you are ready, carry on along the path to a fork and turn right towards the wall, staying on the Dales Way Link. Cross through the gate in the wall and follow the path all the way to Otley Road. As you cross onto Bingley Moor the dramatic moorland landscape gradually gives way to green fields and meadows.

Cross Otley Road with care – traffic moves fast here and visibility from the left is limited. Go right and through the gap in the wall into Dick Hudson’s car park.

Note: at nearly 400 metres after a long moorland crossing, Dick Hudsons is one of the most well-earned pub stops in West Yorkshire. A Walkers are Welcome friendly pub, it has a beer garden with far-reaching views across the valley – hard to leave, but you still have a few miles to go.

After the pub, make your way to the intersection and follow Otley Road in the direction of “Menston, Ilkley" as signed. Keep to the right-hand verge – this is a busy road, so stay alert. After a short while, turn right through a gap in the wall and head across the field towards Toils Farm. In the corner of the field turn right, cross two stiles over the walls and continue across a short field before passing through the farmyard itself. Follow the farm track straight on to Otley Road, then turn left – walking briefly against oncoming traffic, so take care – and after a short while turn right onto a signed public right of way.

This track leads down to Eldwick Beck reservoir. At the bottom, cross the small ford and join the well-laid stone-paved path. At the end of the path turn right towards Tewitt House, then follow the track all the way up to Heights Lane. Cross carefully and go straight on through the wall into the field beyond. Bear right at a 45-degree angle, using the clock tower in the distance as your landmark – this belongs to the former Teacher’s Training School on Lady Lane, a handsome Victorian building now converted into luxury apartments. Once across the field, go right and follow the wall, crossing a couple of stiles before reaching an opening in the wall on your left. Go through it and you are back in a residential area.

From College Road turn right up Lady Lane. Once past Dene Bank, look for a gate on the left leading into woodland. A path follows the beck through the trees, with some beautiful garden boundaries alongside. The path emerges onto Oakwood Drive – turn right then left onto Pinedale. At the end of Pinedale, another path leads onto Gawthorpe Drive. Go straight on to find steps leading down to the next path.

Before you do, it is worth a brief detour: turn right at the end of Gawthorpe Drive and you will find Gawthorpe Hall, one of the oldest buildings in Bingley and well worth a look even from the outside, as it remains a private property.

Back at the steps, go down the path to Beck Lane. Turn right and follow the lane alongside the allotment gardens. At the roundabout turn left towards the canal and you will arrive at the top of Bingley Five Rise Locks – one of the finest feats of canal engineering in England, and a fitting finale to a demanding walk. Take a moment to appreciate the staircase of five interconnected lock chambers dropping 18 metres down to the canal below.

Note: the Five Rise Locks Café, located in the former stables beside the locks, is a wonderful place to rest after a long day on the moor. They serve excellent ice cream too.

Once you are ready, walk away from the locks along the towpath. After a short while turn left onto Sleningford Road. Pass the bowling green and continue to the intersection with Ivy Mews – almost exactly where you began. From here it is a short walk back to Crossflatts Railway Station, completing an 11.8-mile circular route that takes in canal, farmland, ancient moorland and one of Yorkshire’s most iconic landscapes.

Have you done this walk yourself? Don’t hesitate to give us some feedback by leaving a comment below!