Welcome to the award winning Ilkley Chat!

The Yorkshire Invitational returns to Ilkley Golf Club in September and will be hosted by European golf legend Colin Montgomerie. Presented by SGH Events, The Yorkshire Invitational has established itself as one of the premier events on the Yorkshire golfing calendar, and will place on Wednesday 16 & Thursday 17 September. Colin Montgomerie enjoyed one of the most distinguished careers in European golf, recording 31 European Tour victories and winning the European Tour Order

Ilkley is getting ready to celebrate Yorkshire Day again in style! The town’s hugely popular Yorkshire Day Celebration Weekend returns 1 & 2 August, bringing a packed programme of live music, family entertainment, markets and community fun to the heart of the town. Following the success of last year’s award-winning event, organisers are promising another fantastic weekend that celebrates everything people love about Yorkshire – from great music and local businesses to communi

Zip The Cow 2026 [Photo; George Widdup] Last weekend, 246 high flying fundraisers zipped the famous ‘Cow & Calf’ in Ilkley, raising £35,000 for palliative, end-of-life care and grief support charity, Sue Ryder. Zip the Cow, held on Saturday 11 July, challenged fearless fundraisers to walk or ride to the top of the iconic ‘Cow’ at the Cow and Calf Rocks above Ilkley before soar over the Wharfe Valley on a 270-metre zip wire, reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. Sponsore

Yorkshire Water will begin essential connection works on Monday 27 July at the junction of A65 Skipton Road and Victoria Avenue in Ilkley. The project, expected to last four weeks, will link a new housing development to the clean water network and will involve temporary traffic lights, manned during peak times, and the closure of the Victoria Avenue junction with Skipton Road to help reduce disruption and keep traffic moving. The same stretch of road was subject to around 10

Adrian Stocks was killed in a crash on Denton Road in Ilkley [Photo: NYP] A man who admitted killing an Ilkley cyclist as he tried to overtake on Denton Road has been jailed for 10 years and five months. Sohail Jahangir performed a dangerous overtake, killing cyclist Adrian Stocks as he was training for a charity cycle ride. Jahangir, 23, from Woodview in Bradford appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Thursday 16 July where he was jailed for seven years and seven months for cau

Fire crews from across the area attended a moor land fire near Silsden [Photo: Ilkley Fire Station] Firefighters from Ilkley joined crews from across the area in attending a significant moorland fire near Silsden Tuesday afternoon. West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service [WYFRS] say at the height of the incident, 12 fire engines were in attendance. Firefighters used large jets and Argo Cats to tackle the blaze across challenging terrain and remained at the scene overnight with a

The Darwin Gardens Millennium Green Trust has announce that Darwin Gardens, the lovingly restored green space that celebrated its 25-year anniversary last year, has once again received a coveted Green Flag Award for 2026-27. The Green Flag Award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces. Ilkley’s Darwin Gardens Millennium Green, having met the high standards required for the accreditation, has officially been recognised as one of the country’s best parks. C

Due to planned engineering improvement works, services on the Wharfedale Line will be amended for 4 days in July, and now 3 days in August. Network Rail announced the four weekend July dates, 18, 19, 25 and 26, a few weeks ago, and have now added three additional August dates, 1 to 3. The engineering work included track renewal, tunnel repairs and groundwork engineering. All lines out of Ilkley will be closed both weekends in July, the works are taking place between Ilkley an

Ilkley Town Council has installed new solar panels at the Riverside Gardens public toilet, providing renewable energy for many decades to come. Electricity at the Riverside Gardens public conveniences, located near the 17th century Old Bridge, is now being boosted by 5 new solar panels that have been installed on the south-facing roof. Ilkley Town Council resolved to place an order with Leeds Solar for installation of the panels at a total cost of £3,912 (ex VAT), which shoul