The Sunday Times - UK (2022-04-10)

Ilkley

Best Places to Live 2022 Winner

AVERAGE HOUSE PRICE

T £428,000

he view from the craggy

edge of Ilkley Moor is

life-enhancing and

expansive. To the left

are the distant peaks of

the Yorkshire Dales. To

the right the gentle slope of

Wharfedale and the rocky

outline of Almscliffe Crag.

Below, the real life dramas are

played out in the streets of

stone houses, busy shops and

cosy pubs, in our Best Place to

Live 2022: Ilkley.

“We’ve always had the

scenery, the schools and the

trains, and there’s nothing

better than a walk on the

moor to sort your head out,”

says Marcella Mullan, of the

Ilkley Kitchen. “But people

are now really supporting the

independent businesses, and

all the businesses support

each other. It’s about

And the winner is...

500yd

Lido

River

Wharfe

Cow and

Calf Rocks

Cinema

A65

Riverside

Park

Ilkley

Moor

ILKLEY

Find cycling heaven, spectacular walks,

good transport links and a town centre that’s

never lost its charm, says Tim Palmer

community rather than

competition here.”

The Yorkshire town rose

to the challenges of the

pandemic with a sense of

solidarity. “Now you couldn’t

get [people] them out with a

stick of dynamite,” says John

Oddy, an accountant. He

believes what makes Ilkley

really stand out are the

opportunities it offers its

young people.

Olivia Barlow, 20, who is

Ilkley born and bred and a

student at the University of

Nottingham, says: “It’s a great

place to grow up. It’s small,

everywhere is walkable,

everywhere is safe. You can go

out at night and know that

you’ll see someone you know.”

For Russell Tew, the

owner of RoyaltyCloud, an

accounting software

*Source: Halifax using Land

Registry data

Who needs

Leeds?

Rachel Walker,

owner of

textiles shop

Little Beacon,

with her

husband, Ben,

and Alexis, six

and Marlow,

three. Right:

White Wells spa

on Ilkley Moor

Shop stars

Clockwise from

right: Russell

Tew and his

wife Lynn

Sanders with

children Maisie,

four and Jacob,

six; The Grove;

Ilkley high

street; a café in

the town;

Georgina

Richmond with

her dog Pipe in

her shop,

Community

Cutlery

company, who moved to

Ilkley from southwest London

with his family in August

2020, it is about finding the

perfect balance. “There are all

the amenities of a buzzy town

with a cinema, shops and

cafés, while I can get on my

bike and within 15 minutes I’m

in the Yorkshire Dales.”

The other thing that makes

Ilkley special is a get-up-and-

go spirit. The voluntary

groups range from those

landscaping the station plaza

or keeping the Riverside Park

spick and span to the

not-for-profit Ilkley Chess

Centre, and the inspiring

charity Outside the Box,

whose café provides training

and support for adults with

learning difficulties and serves

the best coffee in town.

No cinema? No problem.

Just raise the money to

convert the unlamented Il

Trovatore nightclub into one

of the loveliest picture houses,

as property consultant John

Tate did in 2015. “Some 38

people bought shares,

mostly my mates, their

mates and people they met

in the pub,” he says. The

result is the Ilkley

Cinema, where locals

pack into comfy,

sofas to watch

“well-scripted and

LORNE CAMPBELL/GUZELIAN FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES; HEIDI MARFITT/OUT

SIDE THE BOX CAFE; IAN DAGNALL/ALAMY; MARK SUNDERLAND/SUPERSTOCK

4 April 10, 2022