> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 📝 Field Notes from my Camper-van-camino: 🚴🏛️📸 The Ilkley Loop - URL: https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/field-notes-from-my-camper-van-camino-the-ilkley-loop/ - Published: 2026-01-22T07:05:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-22T17:43:45.000Z - Description: If I could have a love affair with a place it would be Ilkley. - Author: Andy Marshall - Tags: field notes, ilkley, bicycle route, cycle tour, cycling, Travel, bolton abbey *Follow me through a full loop around Ilkley and Bolton Abbey - taking in some delightful architectural gems.* --- **And with a saddened heart I take one of the most beautiful routes in the country.** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-12.11.41.png) Courtesy of Komoot It takes me through a landscape painted by Turner and scripted by Wordsworth. The route can be taken by car (there are some single track lanes) and there are alternative routes on foot. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3099.jpeg) With Splinter, I'm developing a new type of photography: architectural bikeography. This is slow time - meandering through the landscape and interacting with the buildings that pass by. If I miss something, I can easily stop and turn and take it in. I can talk to others whilst tootling along: "Morning! Love your sash window!" "Thanks! It's original 18th century!" I absorb so much more on the bike. 0:00 /0:21 1× --- ## *"This is slow time - meandering through the landscape and interacting with the buildings that pass by."* --- ## 🚐🚴‍♀️ Base Camp Ilkley, Yorkshire. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-13.23.51.png) Courtesy of Google Maps **If I could have a love affair with a place it would be Ilkley. Or would it be Beverley? Find me on the right day and it would be Ilkley. Ilkley is an architecture park.** I park Woody up in the central car park (no height restrictions) and change into my, ahem, lycra. It seems odd to be coming to Ilkley and not visiting my favourite places. ### **But, if you have time to meander, here are a few of my favourite Ilkley buildings.** **The Flying Duck** Yorkshire vernacular at its finest: The Flying Duck in Ilkley has a remarkable history of re-use. Built in 1709 as a farmhouse then a coal merchants, shoemakers, sweetshop, dairy, restaurant and now a pub with its own brewery. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/Fs5hbUPXoAUtUfX-2.jpeg) **Ilkley Manor House** Just a short walk away from the Flying Duck is Ilkley's C17th Manor House - built on top of a Roman fort. It is a grade I listed building on top of a designated Ancient Monument. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/Fs7jIhYWAAANjVj.jpeg) Splinter in front of the remains of the Roman fort behind Ilkley Manor House. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3097.jpeg) The Manor House has a wonderful selection of archaeological finds. My favourite holds the footprints of a cat and roe deer on a Roman clay brick. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/E7w5t23XoAIGCie-2.jpeg) **All Saints' Church** Nearby to the Flying Duck pub and Ilkley Manor House is All Saints' church - which houses some hidden gems: Anglo Saxon crosses with remarkably sharp decoration. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/Fs7tKaqWYAEKwVE.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/Fs7tKarWwAIPyR-.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/Fs7tKarXwAExDzV.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/Fs7tKatXoAE3aDI.jpeg) --- 💡 If you’re drawn to places where time gathers rather than passes – places of refuge, care, and continuity – I post out fresh observations like this every week. [Subscribe for free here](https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/) --- On the font is a C17th evil warding serpent head - carved atop the baptismal font cover. A watery symbol set fair to divine the purity of the baptismal water. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/FdZhUnnXEAEfzlM.jpeg) **The Domestic House.** Ilkley is the place to come and see the historical evolution of the domestic house. From the Arts and Crafts: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_5776.jpeg) To the contemporary: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_5782.jpeg) And, oh yeah, a Lutyens in the guise of Heathcote. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_5783.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_5786.jpeg) Perhaps, more importantly, Ilkley has my favourite bookshop. ### The Grove Bookshop in Ilkley, Yorkshire. Only people that spend a considerable amount get a textile bag with this bookshop. Whenever I visit I always walk out with one, burgeoning with books - trying to think of an excuse to justify the outlay. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/04/IMG_5760.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/04/IMG_3722.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/04/IMG_3724.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/04/IMG_3728.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/04/IMG_3731.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/04/IMG_3734.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/04/IMG_3746.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/04/IMG_5766.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/04/IMG_3735.JPG) [Grove Bookshop - North of England BookshopWelcome to the Grove Bookshop, one of the north of England’s best-known independent bookshops. Situated in Ilkley, the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales.![](https://www.grovebookshop.com/favicon.ico)The Grove BookshopWeb Smart Media![](https://www.grovebookshop.com/images/slide1.jpg)](https://www.grovebookshop.com/?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) --- ### Out on the Ilkley Figure of Eight Loop I recorded my journey on Komoot. If you want to follow it, you can download the GPX file. I loved it so much I made a small film for the Digest. Switch your sound up. Enjoy the ride. --- ## Tour Highlights - Pure Scroll (no words) ### The River Wharfe ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_2971.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/River-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_2979.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3053.jpeg) ### The Local Vernacular ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_2969.jpeg) Old Grammar School, Ilkley early C17th ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_2987-1.jpeg) Beamsley ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_2989-1.jpeg) Beamsley ### Bolton Abbey and Estate ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_2997.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_2999.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3001.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3005.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3011.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/River-1-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/Bolton-Abbey-1-2.jpg) --- Members can see a wonderful 360 VR of the landscape around Bolton Abbey by clicking the link below - it really takes you there. (Viewable on any device) [Be there: Bolton Abbey in glorious VRBolton Abbey is part of one of the most beautiful accessible estates in the country centred around the River Wharfe in the Yorkshire Dales. There’s something about the location of the abbey ruins on the curve of the river that sets the building apart from others. ⚡️Discover More Bolton Priory…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/Andy.png)Andy Marshall's Genius Loci DigestAndy Marshall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/River-1-5.jpg)](https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/be-there-bolton-abbey-in-glorious-vr/) Like to see the extra media? [Become a member](https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/memberships/). --- ### Barden Tower (former hunting lodge) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3027.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3030.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3032.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3034.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3036.jpeg) ### Barden Bridge (1659) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/River-1-3.jpg) ### Cavendish Pavilion - coffee stop ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3052.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3055.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3054.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3061.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3063-1.jpeg) ### Middleton Moor - hidden gem ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/River-1-4.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3086.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3087.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3091.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3093.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3095.jpeg) --- ****BIKE LIFE** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-14.06.37.png) **I'm slogging it up the hill on the return leg and my bike computer tells me that the hill ahead is rising to 15%. If somebody were to chance a look from the Cavendish Pavilion deep in the valley - they would see an ungainly silhouette of a cyclist criss crossing the camber of the road. I'm not going to get off.** The worst bit of any climb for me is the final rise up onto the flattened heights. So close and yet so far - but this time - there's a vision up ahead - an oasis on the skyline. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3067.jpeg) It's Back O' Th' Hill Farm (possibly named by the same person that went on to't Ilkley Moor baht' at). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3078.jpeg) The cafe is set up in the hills overlooking the Wharfe and is situated within the vernaculars of an historic farm. The coffee is to die for and the food looks fab (I didn't have anything to eat but heard the praises of others). There's a small car park opposite. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3068.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3069.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3072.jpeg) Bike Helmet Head ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3079.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3071.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3075.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2023/08/IMG_3076.jpeg) --- [Home - backothhillfarm.co.ukwelcome CAFE OPENING HOURS THIS WEEK:Open everyday (7th August onwards): 10am-4pmAll Saturdays & Sundays 10am - 4pmBeach Tennis now available! http://backothhillfarm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/PXL\_20220714\_191505765.CINEMATIC-1.mp4#t=2Back o’ th’ Hill Farm is a café, bunk barn and event space…backothhillfarm.co.uk -![](https://backothhillfarm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/BOTH_FC_RGB-01-e1679305081462.png)](https://backothhillfarm.co.uk/?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) --- Andy Marshall’s Genius Loci Digest Email address Join the weekly journey – it’s free ↗ Joining… Free. 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