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Trail running in Rombalds Moor

7
routes

Which route should I choose?

7 routes in Rombalds Moor, from 7.7 km to 35.1 km. If it is your first time here, start with the easy group below. Every route has a free GPX file, a TRP grade and a note on parking and transport.

Checked: 4 run by TRP, 3 checked against the GPX file only. Each route page says which.

First trail run here

Low effort, easy ground, shortest first.

Under 10 km

An hour or so, whatever your pace.

A long day out

Over 25 km. Take food, take a map.

By train or bus

Starts you can reach without a car.

Compare all 7 routes in one table
RouteDistanceClimbGradeGroundGetting there
The Twelve Apostles and Rombalds Moor Trig from the Cow and Calf7.7 km248 mModeratemoorlandBus or train
Lunds Tower and Wainmans Pinnacle from Crosshills8.8 km250 mHardmoorlandBus or train
Ilkley Moor from the Cow and Calf9.5 km287 mModeratemoorlandBus or train
Burley Moor Stone Circles from the Cow and Calf11.6 km320 mHardmoorlandBus or train
Ilkley to Rombalds Moor Loop15.6 km373 mHardmoorlandBus or train
Ilkley, Rombalds Moor, Roman Road and Addingham28.7 km565 mHardmoorlandBus or train
The Ilkley Skyline35.1 km808 mVery HardmoorlandBus or train
Burley Moor Stone Circles from the Cow and CalfHARD
Burley Moor Stone Circles from the Cow and Calf
11.6km · 320m climb · Loop
Four thousand years of prehistory in one loop. Rombalds Moor carries over 400 cup-and-ring marked stones, and this route strings the best of them together before dropping you onto two kilometres of Burley Moor that almost nobody runs.
No car needed
Ilkley Moor from the Cow and CalfMODERATE
Ilkley Moor from the Cow and Calf
9.5km · 287m climb · Loop
You run straight up onto the moor of the famous song, past the Cow and Calf crags and out to the Twelve Apostles stone circle, with cup-and-ring carvings scattered underfoot.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
Ilkley to Rombalds Moor LoopHARD
Ilkley to Rombalds Moor Loop
15.6km · 373m climb · Loop
Over 400 prehistoric cup-and-ring carved stones are scattered across this moor, and you'll pass several without trying - a working archaeological landscape disguised as an ordinary heather moor.
No car needed
Checked Jun 2026
Ilkley, Rombalds Moor, Roman Road and AddinghamHARD
Ilkley, Rombalds Moor, Roman Road and Addingham
28.7km · 565m climb · Loop
You climb out of pretty Ilkley onto the wide gritstone shoulder of Rombalds Moor, then swing back through the green lower Wharfe valley for a big, varied day close to home.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
Lunds Tower and Wainmans Pinnacle from CrosshillsHARD
Lunds Tower and Wainmans Pinnacle from Crosshills
8.8km · 250m climb · Loop
You get onto the quiet western shoulder of Rombalds Moor, away from the Ilkley crowds, with wide views over Wharfedale one way and Airedale the other for a short, sharp climb.
No car needed
Checked Jul 2026
The Ilkley SkylineVERY HARD
The Ilkley Skyline
35.1km · 808m climb · Loop
Eleven kilometres of unbroken moor crest, then you cross the valley and run the skyline back the other way with your entire morning laid out in front of you. It is the biggest day available from an Ilkley train station.
No car needed
The Twelve Apostles and Rombalds Moor Trig from the Cow and CalfMODERATE
The Twelve Apostles and Rombalds Moor Trig from the Cow and Calf
7.7km · 248m climb · Loop
You touch the highest point of the moor and a Bronze Age stone circle inside eight kilometres, on paths good enough to run nearly all of. It is the best hour available on Ilkley Moor.
No car needed