During the Carboniferous period (325 million years ago), Ilkley Moor was part of a sea-level swampy area fed by meandering river channels coming from the north.

The layers in the eroded bank faces of stream gullies in the area represent sea levels with various tides depositing different sorts of sediment.

During the last million years, Ice Age glaciers modified the shape of the Wharfe valley, deepening it, smoothing it, and leaving behind glacial debris.

The rocks are made of millstone grit, a variety of sandstone, and are so named because one is large, with the smaller one sitting close to it, like a cow and calf.

According to legend, the Calf was split from the Cow when the giant Rombald was fleeing an enemy and stamped on the rock as he leapt across the valley.

These are earthfast boulders, large flat slabs, or prominent rocks that have cups, rings, and grooves cut into them and that are thought to date from either the late Neolithic or the Bronze Age.

In January 2018, the majority Labour group on the Council resolved not to renew the rights, and the grouse shooting ceased in April 2018.