Ilkley Moor is one of the sites within The Bradford Pennine Gateway National Nature Reserve, which has been named as one of the “seven wonders of the world” for 2026 by a global travel magazine.
The Bradford Pennine Gateway National Nature Reserve is made up of several sites across the District including Ilkley Moor, the St Ives Estate and Shipley Glen.
The reserve has now been named as the only UK location in luxury travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller’s Seven Wonders of the World for this year.
Other locations include El Imposible National Park in El Salvador and the Faroe Islands.
Each year the magazine picks seven “wonders” that people should visit – and Bradford’s new nature reserve landed on this year’s list.
In May 2025 it was announced that Ilkley Moor, Penistone Country Park, Shipley Glen, Baildon Moor, Trench Meadows, St Ives Estate, Harden Moor and Bingley North Bog, would become a new National Nature Reserve – the first in West Yorkshire.
Describing the Bradford site, the magazine said:
“There’s something stoic and un-showy about this 1,272-hectare region.
“These are landscapes of unhurried drama: undulating moors, wind-polished gritstone tors and views that collapse into long, moody distances broken only by the slow, stately flap of a marsh harrier.
“New trails knit the old wool villages of Haworth, Stanbury and Thornton into a tapestry of slow travel, with signposted routes pointing you towards medieval packhorse bridges, secret waterfalls, and a pub or two that still understands a proper pint.
“If Britain ever needed proof that the everyday could still surprise, the Bradford Pennines Gateway delivers with quiet aplomb.”
Bradford Council, which manages the nature reserve with support from Natural England said the recognition is “a major coup.”
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Transport and Planning, said:
“The Bradford Pennine Gateway includes world-famous locations such as Haworth and Ilkley Moor but also shines a light on some of our other amazing places like St Ives estate and Shipley Glen."
Paul Duncan, Deputy Director for Natural England in Yorkshire, said:
“The launch of the Bradford Pennine Gateway National Nature Reserve last year, one of the King’s Series of National Nature Reserves, marked a significant achievement in our efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment. By providing accessible nature near to urban areas, we are fostering a deeper connection between communities and nature, promoting wellbeing and supporting biodiversity recovery.”
Approximately 90 per cent of the area comprises habitats including peat bogs, heathlands, and wetlands.
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