The Keighley area has always been and still is defined by it’s position at the junction of the savage Pennines, the gentler Dales, a larger river and a number of streams that can be far from gentle.
The streams ( often known as Becks) create very narrow steep sided valleys and while they helped enormously in the early years of the Industrial Revolution they mean that, even today, places that appear on modern maps to be quite close together are in fact miles apart by road. This effectively means that even areas within the Town of Keighley have retained their own identity and many small towns , villages and hamlets remained largely unchanged until after the 1960’s.
Even though this MAP is from 1899 it shows the hills, rivers and streams. Today’s routes mainly follow the routes on the map because there is nowhere else for them to go!