THE Friends of Ilkley Moor led one of their heritage walks on Ilkley Moor, ‘Across Crawshaw Moss and Neolithic Sites’ on Saturday.

This three hour walk took people from White Wells car park up to Crawshaw Moss, along to Buckstones - returning down Keighley Road to the lower slopes of Ilkley Moor.

A strenuous walk, with uphill climbing, the walk used some rough moorland tracks and boggy terrain. The group spent time taking in the whole landscape views from various resting points along the way; as well as discovering the some of the archaeology of the moor and the heathland and peatland habitats. People learnt about the plants and wildlife which could be seen on the day and how Ilkley Moor is managed.

A guided walk to discover bats took place in the early evening. Bat detectors were used to identify the presence of bats on the moor. Pipistrelle and noctule bats were discovered.

All of the species discovered at these events, were recorded as part of the ‘Big Ilkley Moor Survey’. This survey is part of the Friends of Ilkley Moor’s new ‘Nature for all Project’. The aim of the project is to provide the local community with opportunities to identify, survey and record the wildlife of Ilkley Moor and to use this information to help inform management options for Ilkley Moor, aiming for increased biodiversity.

Tracy Gray, Friends of Ilkley Moor Project Officer said: "Everyone had a great time and said they look forward to attending more events from this and next year’s events and learning programme so they can discover more of Ilkley Moors amazing heritage.

"And lastly the FoIM’s regular volunteers have been out each week this month undertaking habitat management on Ilkley Moor and helping to restore and maintain footpath networks. They cleared bracken from areas important for wetland plant species and invertebrates; helped restore eroded footpaths and cleared over grown vegetation from benches and the tarn."

The events programme and heritage walks can be downloaded from the FOIM website www.ilkleymoor.org