On Ilkley Moor

I walked with friends up on to Ilkley Moor above the town. There is heather up there too, though not as much as we saw recently on Haworth Moor. It was a bright, breezy day, perfect for exploring and there are some wonderful views as you climb. 

We went as far as the Swastika Stone, thought to date from the Bronze Age. There are a number of these curious 'cup and ring' marks on stones all across these moors. Their exact meaning isn't known but they are thought to be sacred symbols associated with neolithic burial sites. I'm afraid my photo isn't very good. The site is protected by iron railings and, with it being such a sunny day, I couldn't avoid the shadows. In fact, I believe the carving shown is a Victorian copy. The actual Swastika mark is further over towards the edge of the outcrop, much fainter and less accessible. 

It made me wonder how much of the view we see today was shared by our neolithic ancestors. We spent quite a while trying to work out which hills we could see in the distance. I'm still unsure, though the settlement in the middle ground is the village of Addingham on the River Wharfe and beyond is Bolton Abbey, so somewhere up there is Barden Fell, Simon's Seat and perhaps even Great Whernside on the far horizon (not to be confused with Whernside, one of the famous Three Peaks, which is near Settle and much further left/west of this view).  

We came across a few other interesting sights on our ramble: a large, carved, wooden eagle:  

Some enormous rosehips... ( Do you remember the rosehip syrup we used to get given as kids? I loved it. I wonder if you can still buy it?) 

A plaque commemorating Darwin Gardens, a nature reserve that was created on the site of a neglected park to mark the Millennium. Charles Darwin, the naturalist, visited Ilkley for several weeks in 1859 to rest and to take the spa waters in the hope of curing his ill-health.  He had just finished his then controversial book, On the Origin of Species.