Geography
Otley lies 28 miles south-west of York, 10 miles north-west of Leeds, 10 miles north-east of Bradford, and 196 miles from London. The town lies in lower Wharfedale at a bridging point of the River Wharfe where there is a seven arched bridge and is surrounded by arable farmland. The south side of the valley is dominated by a gritstone escarpment overlooking Otley called The Chevin and to the north is Newall Carr. In 1944, Major Le G.G.W. Horton Fawkes of Farnley Hall donated 263 acres (1.1 km²) of land on the Chevin to the people of Otley. This has been expanded to 700 acres (2.8 km²) and constitutes Chevin Forest Park. It was from a quarry on the Chevin that the foundation stones for the Houses of Parliament were hewn.
To the east and west of Otley are flooded gravel pits, where sand and gravel have been extracted in the 20th century. The gravel pits to the east at Knotford Nook are a noted birdwatching site. Those to the west are devoted to angling and sailing.
To the west are the villages of Burley-in-Wharfedale and Menston. To the east is Pool-in-Wharfedale.
- Location grid
| Ilkley, Skipton | Washburn Valley, Blubberhouses | Harrogate | ||
| Keighley | Wetherby | |||
| Otley | ||||
| Bradford | Pudsey | Leeds |
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