A Yorkshire Day Celebration
Where ? - The Cow & Calf Rocks, Ilkley
When ? - Wednesday 1st August 10:00 - 11:00
What ? - An invitation to sing the National Anthem (of Yorkshire)
Yorkshire Day is celebrated on 1 August to promote the historic English county of Yorkshire Please join us by the Cow and Calf, on Ilkley moor, between 10:00 and 11:00 to celebrate our glorious county.
The waypoint will take you to a reasonable sized car park by a café. Should this car park be full, there is further off-road parking a short way up the road towards and by the hotel (if you use these additional parking areas please be aware that this can be a busy road and care will be needed).
The café serves hot and cold drinks and a reasonable selection of hot and cold food.
There are many caches on Ilkley Moor including several Earth Caches, and we are arranging for more to be released for the Mega - though do remember, if you are going on the moor, to wear your hat.
The date (1st August) alludes to the Battle of Minden, and also the anniversary of the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, for which a Yorkshire MP, William Wilberforce, had campaigned. The day was already celebrated by the Light Infantry, successors to the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, as Minden Day. Together with five other infantry regiments of the British Army, a rose is permitted to be worn in the headdress. In the case of the Light Infantry, the rose is white.
Ilkley Quarry is the site of the famous "Cow and Calf", a large rock formation consisting of an outcrop and boulder, also known as Hangingstone Rocks. The rocks are made of millstone grit, a variety of sandstone, and are so named because one is large, with the smaller one sitting close to it, like a cow and calf. Legend has it that there was once also a "bull", but that was quarried for stone during the spa town boom that Ilkley was part of in the 19th century. However, none of the local historians have provided any evidence of the Bull's existence.
According to legend, the Calf was split from the Cow when the giant Rombald was fleeing an enemy, and stamped on the rock as he leapt across the valley. The enemy, it is said, was his angry wife…… She dropped the stones held in her skirt to form the local rock formation The Skirtful of Stones.
Ilkley is a spa town, historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire Ilkley's spa town heritage and surrounding countryside make tourism an important local industry. The town centre is characterised by Victorian architecture, wide streets and floral displays. Ilkley Moor, to the south of the town, is the subject of a folk song, often described as the unofficial anthem of Yorkshire, "On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at". The song's words are written in Yorkshire dialect, its title translated as "On Ilkley Moor without a hat."
The town is a tourist destination and is used as a base from which to explore the famous moor and the countryside beyond. Ilkley is a shopping town that sells everything from game, fine wine, expensive fashions and fine art. The Victorian parades of the Grove and Brook Street have a selection of speciality shops. The town's original Victorian arcade has been restored as an indoor shopping walkway complete with a fountain and hanging baskets.
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This event has been placed as part of the week of caching fun around The 10th Anniversary UK Mega Event - Yorkshire 2018
