Twelve Apostles

High on Burley Moor

Boggy walk
If you take a picnic up onto Burley Moor high above Ilkley, following rising flagstones and well-trodden paths, you stumble upon a mysterious stone circle. (In truth, there are plenty of online maps to download different ways of getting there on purpose.) Archaologists estimate there were originally up to 20 standing stones but there are now 12 securely planted. Their original design may have been related to the movement of the moon or the rising of the sun, like Stonehenge. But it’s also possible that they’ve been moved more than once in their history and how or why they came to be known as “The Twelve Apostles” is lost in the vagaries of local mythmaking. Any road up, the walk, though squelchy, felt primitive and dramatic and perfect for a wintery chance to blow away cobwebs and set the world to rights….

Mini Stonehenge in Yorkshire....