People have been leaving their marks on these rocks since the bronze age

Ilkley, West Yorkshire: The Cow and the Calf have become monuments to our longing to anchor ourselves in the worldOn the horizons surrounding Wharfedale, snow, sky and space are warring in spectacular ways; white clouds roll over the white moors like billows of steam, vaporising the distinction between both, and the sun occasionally provides episodes of dazzling icy brightness. Winter's sorcery has turned Rombald's Moor into a convincing impression of blizzard-swept Arctic tundra a few miles from the middle of Bradford. Undeterred, the weekend visitors are out in force around the great millstone grit forms of the Cow and Calf above Ilkley. Like many of the tors, outcrops and escarpments dotting the gritstone Pennines, this imposing crag and its smaller counterpart together act as a natural gathering point for the surrounding civilisation. Climbers climb them; children instinctively recognise them as venues for play; adults stride to the lip of boulders and strike noble poses for phone cameras. Spend any time people-watching at the nearby Brimham Rocks, Almscliffe Crag or the Chevin and see further evidence of how we are innately drawn towards wild rock formations. Continue reading...