Ilkley Attractions

Ilkley Quarry is the site of the 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 siting 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 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 local 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 rumoured, was his angry wife. She dropped the stones held in her skirt to form the local rock formation The Skirtful of Stones.

The name of the giant Rombald is likely to be a retrovention, due to the name of the entire 'Rombalds Moor', which is most likely to derive its title from the de Rommilles, who held the honour of Skipton in the thirteenth century.

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