Ilkley Walks
Family friendly walks for kids in Ilkley and the Surrounding area
Looking for family friendly Ilkley walks?
Well look no further! We have got Ilkley COVERED! These family friendly walks explore the epic Ilkley Moor, the beautiful Middleton Woods, the secret Ilkley waterfalls, the best places to splash, paddle (and even swim) the whole lot! We even cover all of the outlying areas around Ilkley too!
Ilkley is COOL for kids!
Want to know more about Ilkley?
It is a beautiful Spa Town on the edge of the legendary Ilkley Moor (B’aht ‘at), in West Yorkshire. A literal stone’s throw away from the Yorkshire Dales National Park (if you can throw a stone 2 miles), it is a fantastic town to explore, with local history aplenty! If you fancy a walk to the original Ilkley Spa, check out our walks involving White Wells Spa, visited by Charles Darwin himself! (Charles Darwin? Victorian naturalist behind the Theory of Evolution no less….)
All of our walks are given a kid friendly rating for difficulty and have a quick look key to show you all of the necessary kid friendly info!
Walk Difficulty Ratings
All of our tried and tested kid friendly walks have been divided into 3 categories dependant on difficulty, length and terrain:
⭐ Little Monkeys:
Walks suitable for younger children. Shorter length walks with occasional pushchair access.
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers:
Walks suitable for pre-schoolers. Medium length/ difficulty walks.
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers:
Walks suitable for older children. Longer length walks with some difficult terrain.
Walks at a Glimpse
Here is our quick look key so you can identify what each walk has without taking too long!
👶 Suitable for Pushchairs
🎒 Suitable for Carriers
🚘 Car Park/ On Street Parking
🚌 Public Transport Links
🐶 Dog Friendly
🥾 Sturdy Footwear or Wellies
🧒 A park or play area
🦆 Ducks to Feed
💦 Water play/ paddle/ swim
✨ Cool history or geology
👻 Legendary Story
🌳 Walking Games
The Ilkley Moor Walks
Ilkley Moor is a pretty expansive place! So all of our family friendly Ilkley Moor walks have been cut down to kid sized chunks!
Ilkley Tarn
📍 Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire
⭐ Little Monkeys
🚘🚌👶🦆💦🌳🐶
📏 1 mile
An awesome pushchair friendly walk for little legs. With ducks. Very hungry Ducks!
It’s short, sweet, and has plenty of snack stops! The perfect walk for the youngest walkers!
White Wells, Ilkley Moor
📍 Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
🎒🦆🚌💦✨🥾🚘🌳
📏 less than 2 miles
White Wells is THE original Spa of Ilkley. Dating back to the 1700’s the building is open to the public and serves hot drinks. The walk here packs so much in for less than 2 miles. The perfect walk for a budding adventurer!
The Beck Stone
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📍 Ilkley Moor, West Yorshire
📏 less than 2 miles
🎒🥾🚘💦✨🐶🚌🌳
One of the Stanza Stones, the walk to and from The Beck Stone is PACKED full of exciting things to spot. Carved stone faces hidden on the rocks, secret waterfalls and prehistoric rock markings. This one packs a punch for less than 2 miles.
Ilkley Moor
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📍 Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire
📏 6.5 miles
🎒🥾🚘💦✨🐶🚌🌳
This walk is the Ilkley Moor BIGGY. It takes in the historic White Wells Spa, the Ilkley Moor Trig Point, super cool natural rock formations, a stanza stone, a 12th Century cross, cup and ring marked rock and a hidden waterfall! BOOM!
The Badger Stone, Ilkley Moor
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📍 Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire
📏 2 miles
🎒🥾🚘💦✨🐶🚌🌳
This is one of the BEST cup and ring marked rocks on Ilkley Moor. This walk will take you to there, and along Spicey Gill, one of the lesser walked bits of the Moor. One for the budding historians for sure!
The Rocky Valley
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📍 Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire
📏 2 miles
🎒🥾🦆🚘💦✨🐶🚌🌳
This walk? Along the epic rocks of the aptly titled Rocky Valley! This walk starts and ends at Darwin Gardens and will take you past White Wells, along the Rocky Valley, past carved stone faces, the Ilkley Moor waterfall and past the tarn!
Heber’s Ghyll
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
📍 Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire
📏 Less than 2 miles
🎒🥾🚘💦✨🐶🚌🌳
An awesome amble around the woodland and waterfalls of Heber’s Ghyll with the chance to go and hunt down the neolithic carved rock called the ‘Swastika Stone’ (*this in no way has any association with the modern use of the Swastika, but is a carved rock that is thousands of years old).
Heber’s Ghyll is also the home to many, many dinosaurs… intrigued?
Ilkley Town Walks
All of these family friendly walks start and end in and around the centre of Ilkley, where you’ll find the playpark and plenty of cafe’s for a cheeky coffee!
Ilkley Riverside
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
📍 Ilkley, West Yorkshire
📏 2 miles
👶🧒🦆🚘💦✨🐶🚌🌳
This well known circular will take you around the Ilkley Riverside, crossing the three bridges, the old, the new and the suspension! It has the park, paddle spots, ducks, and more!
Middleton Woods
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
📍 Ilkley West Yorkshire
📏 2.5 miles
🎒🥾🧒🦆🚘💦🐶🚌🌳
This is a fabulous little wander along Ilkley riverside, and around Middleton Woods. You’ll find a park, plenty of stick dens, stone throwing, paddling and picnic spots here.
Middleton Calvary and Middleton Woods
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📍 Ilkley, West Yorkshire
📏 5-6 miles
🎒🥾🧒🦆🚘💦✨🐶🚌🌳
This walk will take you right past the spine tinglingly atmospheric Myddleton Calvary, into the woodland of Middleton Woods, which are a stick collector’s dream and past the riverbanks of the Wharfe for a good old stone chucking session!
Surrounding Areas of Ilkley
Here you will find family friendly walks in the outlying villages surrounding the town of Ilkley, including Burley in Wharfedale and Ben Rhydding.
Ben Rhydding Nature Reserve
⭐ Little Monkeys
📍 Ben Rhydding, Ilkley, West Yorkshire
📏 less than 1 mile
🚘👶🥾🦆🐶🌳
A nature reserve is a top way to engage a budding explorer, with plenty of creepy crawlies, birds and plants to spot. This one is a very short little wander with plenty to see and if you’re lucky, you might spot an otter! (Be warned, it’s a muddy one!)
Burley Stepping Stones
⭐ Little Adventurers
📍 Burley in Wharfedale, near Ilkley, West Yorkshire
📏 2 miles
👶/🎒🥾🧒🚘💦🐶🚌🌳
This is a classic Burley in Wharfedale wander! With geocaches, stepping stones, stone throwing spots and the park, what’s not to love?!
Burley Moor
⭐⭐ Little Adventurers
📍 Burley in Wharfedale, near Ilkley
📏 3 miles
🎒🥾🚘💦🐶🚌🌳
This walk will take you to the top of Burley Moor, past Lanshaw Dam. A great little wander for a budding explorer.
The Twelve Apostles
⭐⭐⭐ Superstar Hikers
📍 Burley in Wharfedale, near Ilkley
📏 5.5 miles
👶🎒🥾🧒🦆🚘💦✨👻🐶🚌🌳
This walk will take you from Burley Woodhead up to the Twelve Apostles, which are located between the Burley and Ilkley Moors. The Twelve Apostles are a series of bronze age stones placed in a circle. Pretty cool right?
Sun Lane Nature Reserve
⭐ Little Monkeys
📍 Burley in Wharfedale, near Ilkley
📏 1 mile
🎒🥾🚘🐶🚌🌳
This is not so much a walk as an explore of a super cool nature reserve! Always plenty to find here with trees to climb and trains to spot too!
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