The NNR consists of some of Bradford’s most well-known landmarks.
Ilkley Moor is identified for it is well-known folks track, On Ilkla Moor Baht ‘at, and Haworth’s Penistone Hill was an inspiration for the bleak setting of many Brontë novels.
But, as illustrator and passionate hiker Bunty May Marshall explains, these areas nonetheless have tons of thriller to them.
“I’ve been traipsing around on those moors for years,” she says.
“After a life-changing trip to Brittany I found that megalithic rocks and whatnot existed. And then I came back to the UK and was like, is there anything like that here?
“I discovered that on my doorstep there was Ilkley and the moors and that had this unimaginable historical past of historic rock artwork and stone circles.”
Ilkley Moor is the site of hundreds of prehistoric cup-and-ring stone carvings from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.
“There’s simply one thing about Yorkshire that I discover tremendous mystical and it is such an enigma. There’s a lot pre-history dotted round on that band between Leeds and Bradford and the Aire Valley,” says Bunty.
Ilkley’s history became the inspiration behind Hwaet, a zine Bunty created with her partner George, which guides readers on a history walk across the moors.
“Many individuals have speculated as to what the cup and ring marks would possibly imply, whether or not that is likely to be maps of the stars or hallucinogenic type of patterns,” she says.
“One of the explanations I believe is most possible in sure circumstances, however not all circumstances, is that they might be maps of the precise land.
“The badger stone up on Ilkley Moor. I’m almost certain that’s a map of springs because I’ve overlaid it over a map of the area and not only does it fit shape-wise, it faces directly north and a lot of the cups and subsequent rings line up with springs.”
Bunty says half of what she loves about the NNR is the “liminal quality” between the rural and the city.
“There’s just so much on those moors that tell thousands of years’ worth of history. Then on top of the history is the folklore and it’s never ending.”