Discover Steeton

Canal boats and Crayfish Claws at Kildwick

Located between Skipton and Keighley, this walk takes in the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. The Route what3words for start point: ///scan.scavenger.fields Start Point: Kildwick Bridge Finish Point: Kildwick Bridge Distance: 3.1miles GPX Route Map dnaire-canal-boats-at-kildwickDownload Walk Description Start this walk at the White Lion Pub. Turn right and head up the hill towards Kildwick Church. The building you are approaching has been standing since the 1300's. However there has been a church here since the 1000's. The church has been well recognised throughout history. Charlotte Bronte visited here during her time as governess for Mary Wainman from nearby Lothersdale. Pause to take a look in the church graveyard (near the car park) and you will find a tomb stone dating from 1889. It belongs to John Laycock. The beautifully carved organ is said to be a replica of the first organ he made. If your walk is early on a Sunday morning you may hear the bells chime at Kildwick church. The tower is one of only six in the country to have “Yorkshire tail ends,” a fluffy handle on the end of the pulling ropes. Bells have been rung here since it was built, over 600 years ago. As you walk on the banks of the River Aire, you may see broken signal crayfish claws, a favorite food for otters. Signal crayfish, introduced from America to Europe in the 1960s for farming, have now become widespread. They carry a disease that doesn’t harm them but devastates native White-clawed crayfish. The Aire Rivers Trust is working to restore native species and habitat along the river. Kildwick_compressedDownload