This website claims to describe 'easy' walks in and around Skipton, but this walk is not quite so easy. It is not too long, not too steep and there are no tricky ascents or descents. But there are loads of the dry stone wall 'step' stiles that are prevalent in this region. For the young and sure-footed these present no problem. But for wobbly pensioners with short legs they can be challenging.

And there is at least one boggy area. 'Black Sike' upon Skipton Moor will get your feet wet even in nice weather. I wouldn't want to try it after prolonged wet weather.

You start by visiting the interesting Jubilee Tower above Kildwick and finish up at the trig point and cairns on top of Skipton Moor - the best views in the area and a 'must do' for anyone walking in Skipton.

This walks starts in the village of Kildwick. The frequent Keighley bus will drop you there or a taxi will cost you around £15. Or you could walk there on the canal to make this a circular walk.

Get off the bus at the stop just before the roundabout ('Kildwick Lane End') and walk up the slope into the village. Turn left at the top into the village centre. (There is a nice cafe - Coffee and Crumbs - by the entrance to the church.) Go to the left again and pass under the aqueduct of the Leeds and Liverpool canal.

A short way up the road take a cobbled path ascending to the right and passing in front of some of the houses. Follow the path up hill between two walls then up a stepped path behind a house. You then pass though wider, grassed area with a bench. Carry on up hill until you reach a tarmac lane then turn left.

In a few yard turn right through a wooden kissing gate on to a wooded dirt track. Follow this track all the way up until you reach some buildings at the top.

Should you turn right here, there is the characterful 'Crag and Coffee' takeaway. It was doing a roaring trade the day I took these pictures.

But our route goes left on to the moor. Follow the middle path as it ascends through the trees. After a while the path becomes rocky. Eventually you will see the Jubilee Tower. There is a bench at the front which makes a nice place for a rest.

Now we are going to take a shortcut across the middle of the moor. As you leave the bench, cross the main path you just walked up and take a smaller path past this strange triangular rock. Follow this rocky path until you come to this large cairn. Continue in the same direction until you come to a T-junction with a bigger path then turn right. Now walk down the root-covered path between the trees until you see another path going sharp left towards the edge of the moor.

Follow this path until it leads you to the perimeter wall. Eventually you come to the first of the many 'step stiles' that we're going cross today. Go over it and follow the path over a tree-less section of the moor the moor. Several more stiles will lead you eventually to the tarmac lane adjacent to Delph Farm.

If you study the OS map, you will see a maze of roads, tracks and footpaths across the farmland between here and Skipton Moor. Choose any route you fancy, but the route I follow has less stiles than most and gets us on to Skipton Moor at it's eastern end, thus avoiding the difficult crossing of Black Sike on Millstone Hill.

Cross the lane and take the farm road alongside the cattle sheds. Follow this to Smoulden Farm then go across the up hill field to the left of the farm and through a couple of gates to Cocklick Laithe. Now go diagonally across the fields towards High Bracken Hill Farm. When you reach the tarmac lane turn left.

Now follow the paved road past the wind turbine to the farm at Moorgate. Nice views here. I speculate that few walkers pass here, as it I couldn't see any signage and no stiles. Turn right in front of the farm buildings here and pass through a gate in the farm yard, then out past a static caravan and through another gate.

The OS map shows a path from here direct to Low Edge Farm, but we couldn't find it, so we did two sides of a triangle instead. Carry on in front of the beautiful home at Crow Trees (the owner assured that although his dogs might be noisy, they were friendly!) then on to Jenkin Farm. Here there is a little gate that takes you into the field on the left. And more good news, there's a bridge over the little stream at the bottom. Walk across the next field and over another little bridge onto the paved access road up to the Edge farms.

At Low Edge farm the OS map is wrong. It shows the footpath going around the south-west side of the house. It does not, it passes to the north-east side. Pass though the large gate with a 'dogs loose'. sign (we did not meet any) into the yard of the house, then immediately take the grass path to the right that leads you around the back of the house. This takes you to a pretty little dingle with a stream and stone steps opposite up on to High Bradley Moor.

Follow the up hill footpath past the gorse diagonally across this field then through a wooden farm gate into the next field. Here we have to turn right up hill on a path that is easily missed. A few yards into the field cross the little ditch/stream to your right. Someone had dropped some big stones in so we were able to get across without getting wet. Proceed up hill and you will soon see two yellow-topped poles indicating a step stile over the Skipton Moor boundary wall.

Here the OS map is wrong again. It shows the footpath following the south side of the wall. It does not - it is to the north of the wall.

Follow this path as it goes over a couple of wooden stiles, an eventually you will arrive at the biggest challenge of the day: Black Sike. We did this walk in nice weather but still had to walk for a hundred yards or so through marsh with water over our boots. I guess you'd need waders if you came up here in wet weather.

(As mentioned above, another route on to Skipton Moor crosses Black Sike near Millstone Hill. This is may be less boggy, but here the stream has cut a trench which is not each to get across in the absence of any bridge.)

Now follow the path as it passes the attractive rocks of Standard Crag. As you leave the crag you will see the summit trig point and cairns off to the right.

Once more, the OS map is not as good as it might be. It shows no paths across Skipton Moor, but there are some. Soon you will see a path that will take you across the middle of the moor to the summit.

There is a trig point in the middle and cairns at either end.

I'm sure you will agree that the views are impressive. And last time we were up there, on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in May, we had the entire moor to ourselves.

Follow the obvious (not not shown on the OS map) path westerly down from the top. This will bring you to the final stone stile of the day which takes you to the top of Jenny Gill. Go right and down the gill. It gets a little steep in places, and half way down you will see a bench confirming that you're on the correct route.

At the bottom you cross a wooden stile and go left on the Dales High Way. Ignore the temptation to go down any of the steep slopes to your right, but follow the path as it splits and rejoins until, in a 100 yards or so, you come to a gorse filled clearing in what might have been an old quarry. Here an easier path goes down to the right following the border wall of the moor. This leads you to a stoney track which takes you to back into civilisation. Follow your nose back into Skipton town.