Ilkley

10 miles north of Bradford and 15 miles northwest of Leeds, Ilkley is situated below extensive moorland in Lower Wharfedale. All Saints' Church was begun in the 13th century and was probably built on the site of an earlier 11th-century church; there are three fine 9th-century Anglo-Saxon crosses here. The ancient Roman fort of Olicana was located here. Bronze Age carvings on rocks and boulders have been discovered in the surrounding moorland. In the 19th century Ilkley became a health and holiday center, particularly after the building of the Ben Rhydding Hydropathic Establishment in 1846 and the opening of the railway in 1864-1865. While no longer primarily a resort, it retains its Victorian charm and there is a noteworth annual literature festival.