Malham: 12 March 2011
- Distance
- 9 miles
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Location
- Malham … Map of start point
- Transport
- Buses from Skipton, with summer Sunday buses from Settle, Ilkley and York
- Leader
- Helen F
As we met in the car park at Malham, more and more walkers and stragglers turned up and (eventually) we had the largest GYBO group in history - 41! We left Malham behind, walking along an easy footpath beside Gordale Beck, and into woodland where we came upon the impressive waterfall of Janet's Foss, where we destroyed the peace and quiet that another couple had evidently gone there looking for. After a brief photo stop, we continued along to the foot of Gordale Scar, a dramatic ravine with limestone cliffs towering 100m above us, and a gushing waterfall thundering down over a steep, scrambling footpath. Thankfully that wasn't the planned route, so we retraced our steps, and followed a footpath that took us around the scar and climbed steeply to a welcome lunch spot where we could look down into the scar and enjoy spectacular views across Malhamdale to the south.
After lunch, we followed the top of Gordale Scar until we came in sight of Malham Tarn, then we turned south and joined the Pennine Way down the narrow gorge of Ing Scar to emerge at the top of Malham Cove. At the top is an enormous limestone pavement, with its wobbly clints and deep grikes (thank you, distant memories of a geography lesson) ... but what took our breath away was the view when we looked over the edge. The cove is a sheer cliff, 80m high and 300m wide, curving round in an arc, with amazing views down Malhamdale. But just as people were edging as close to the edge as they dared, the clouds that had been following us all day gave us a light sprinkling of rain. Normally, a tiny bit of drizzle wouldn't bother us, but when a limestone pavement gets wet, it takes on the same friction properties as an ice rink, but with the added fun of crevasses wide and deep enough to break a leg. We inched our way gingerly across the uneven rocks to the safety of the grass path, then down a steep flight of steps to admire the cove from the bottom.
Photos by Stevie