 PRAWR 150. Cup, ring and groove marked rock close to Stone 1 (Dobrudden)  Cup and possible ring marked rock northeast of Dobrudden Farm - PRAWR 173  Cup and two arcs on stone PRAWR 145 |
Baildon
Moor stands to the south of the larger Rombalds / Ilkley
Moor, but whereas they are wild in places, Baildon is gentler and
more easily accessible. Like Rombalds and Ilkley there are various Bronze Age carved rocks here - around forty or so marked examples, with two thirds of them to the north/northeast of Dobrudden Farm caravan park although two of the best examples are to the east and the south of the park. There are also said to be the remains at least two stone circles - one at Windy Hill and one north of the road at Pennythorne Hill but these are now destroyed and the stones either removed or scattered. There are also several badly damaged cairns, a destroyed Bronze Age field system, and quite a few recent bell pits - evidence of surface speculation for coal. The area covered by Baildon Moor forms almost a small island being bounded by Loadpit Beck and Glovershaw Beck to the west, the River Aire which flows around the south and out towards the east, and Gill Beck on the north and northeastern side of the moor. Perhaps it was this sense of separation from the surrounding countryside made Baildon important to the stone carvers as an area set aside from normal life. On the other hand it could be argued that its elevation above the water and fine views made it an ideal place to live, hunt, farm or carve rocks. Parking is easy at a free carpark north of Bingley Road where there are the remains of 'Coll's Burial Mound' ring cairn, from here walk a short distance west to a track that leads uphill and south to Dobrudden Farm. Many of the stones lie close to this track. In Dyers 'Discovering Prehistoric England' he mentions four prominent stones and I have used his numbering system as an aid for those who have the book. For those that do not, I have also added the more recent and authoritative PRAWR numbers - this is the 'Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding' book published in 2003. Featured Stones: Baildon Moor 1 - Dobrudden (PRAWR 147) Baildon Moor 2 (PRAWR 154) Baildon Moor 3 (PRAWR 151) Baildon Moor 4 (PRAWR 146) |
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