Welcome to the award winning Ilkley Chat!

Drop off your boxes during National Collection Week 10-17 November, 2025 [Photo: samaritans-purse.org.uk] Ilkley Baptist Church will again be the local collection centre for the 'Operation Christmas Child' shoebox appeal.  The Samaritan’s Purse project Operation Christmas Child collects shoebox gifts—filled with fun toys, school supplies and personal care items and delivers them to children in need around the world. Just fill a shoebox with some toys and gifts, for many of th

Bek and Charlotte from The Lost Embers Ilkley based folk band, The Lost Embers, have just released their first EP, ‘Wonderings’. The Lost Embers have their roots in the Wharfe valley. Two of the band, Charlotte Hatch and Bek Olive, first met at a local baby group, “The wheels on the bus” and “Wind the bobbin up” evolved over the years into making up their own songs and singing round family firepits. Multi-instrumentalist and fellow mum, Andrea Hardaker, joined the band soon a

The 10km stretcher race went from The Fleece in Addingham to the top of Beamsley Beacon and back Two Addingham residents, Rowan Sutcliffe (20) and Ryan Womersley (32), have completed a remarkable challenge to raise money for Sarcoma UK, just months after both received life-changing cancer diagnoses. Rowan was diagnosed with primary cardiac angio sarcoma at 17, one of the rarest and most aggressive heart cancers. After extensive treatment, his tumour was successfully removed i

📋| ILKLEY CHAT JOBS BOARD |📋 28.10.25 every Tuesday with Right at Home Ilkley, Keighley & Skipton  - recruiting CareGivers to provide quality care in a client’s home: www.rightathome.co.uk/ilkley-jobs 🖱 To add a vacancy next week or view the Jobs Board on our website visit ilkleychat.co.uk/jobs-board There are three sections - main jobs, apprenticeships and volunteers. ■■■ MAIN JOBS ■■■ WORKSHOP JOINER AND KITCHEN FITTER/JOINER – WHARFEDALE INTERIORS, ILKLEY Join our well-

Little Free Ilkley marks its 2nd annivrersary {Photos: Robbie Moore] Ilkley MP Robbie Moore joined the volunteers from Little Free Ilkley at the weekend to mark the group's second two year anniversary of community clean-ups. Over the past 24 months the group have cleared mountains of dropped litter to keep Ilkley and nearby moorlands clean and tidy - they average about 1,000 bags a year as a group. Sunday had a Halloween theme, which included music from the Stephandhersax an

Tesco Winter Food Collection is taking place in Ilkley Superstore from 27th to 29th November 2025 With food banks and charities facing continued high levels of need this winter, Ilkley residents are being urged to give the gift of their time to take part in the UK’s biggest food donation drive. Now in its 13th year, the Tesco Winter Food Collection is taking place in Ilkley Superstore on Springs Lane from 27th to 29th November. Tesco’s charity partners, Trussell and FareShare

The Unfriend runs from 30th Oct to 7th Nov The Unfriend opens this week in the Wharfeside Theatre at Ilkley Playhouse. Running from Thursday 30th October until Saturday 7th November, The Unfriend is written by Steven Moffat. The Scottish writer and producer is the creator of many TV hit shows, such as Sherlock, Dracula, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Coupling, Douglas is Cancelled and many of the best and most loved episodes of Doctor Who. The Unfriend centres on suburban couple P

The Island Croft Local artist Tony Dexter has ten paintings on show at the Art Shop Gallery in Ilkley. Tony, who is a regular exhibitor, creating vibrant large acrylic images inspired by a variety of subjects, told Ilkley Chat: “Over the years my creative work has been influenced by recurring themes such as boats and beaches, wood and barns and Scottish Crofts and I’m delighted to have a selection on show and for sale in the Gallery. “My paintings are not photographic represe

The Winter Swing Band Dance is on 22nd November at Clarke Foley Community Hub Ilkley-based Two Rivers Swing Band are staging their ever-popular Winter Swing Band Dance on Saturday 22nd November in a new venue, the Clarke Foley Community Hub. The band will entertain you with a selection of Big Band classics, including both instrumental and sparkling vocal favourites. A spokesperson for the swing band said: “We’ll bring you a musical assortment from the era of classic swing thr

The Jigsaw Festival returns to Christchurch in November Hundreds of completed jigsaw puzzles are emerging from storage at Christchurch in Ilkley ready to be sold at the 11th annual Jigsaw Festival being held between the 6th and 8th of November. The puzzles have been worked on by dissect ologists (jigsaw enthusiasts) far and wide. Organisers say because the puzzles are displayed in completed form, customers can see all the pieces are there; so none of the frustration of realis

Ilkley Town Council has approved a grant of £10,000 to Ilkley Grammar School to help sustain and enhance mental health provision Ilkley Town Council has approved an exceptional grant of £10,000 to Ilkley Grammar School to help sustain and enhance mental health provision for students during the 2025–2026 academic year. The funding comes at a time of increasing need for well-being and mental health support among young people, alongside significant financial pressures on school

Demian Dorelli will perform at Ilkley Manor House next month Visit Ilkley Manor House for an intimate solo piano performance from pianist & composer Demian Dorelli on 14 November. He will be playing pieces from his Nick Drake Reimagined projects & his David Hockney-inspired original album, My Window. Demian Dorelli, born in London to an Italian fashion photographer and an English ballet dancer, grew up in an artistic environment. He chose music and, more particularly, the pia