23rd November 2015 Malham Cove Walk

As Geoff was only booked in for a few days here in Wharfedale we decided to get another walk in so drove out to do a circular walk of 8.5 miles in Malham. Geoff lived not too far from here and had done this walk before with the lovely Barbara so knew where we were going.

Unfortunately our little Smart car only seats two so we left Angela behind for a day of hobbies after first doing her exercises.

We parked up outside The Buck Inn in the lovely village of Malham, got all our kit together, checked the map and set off in the direction of Janet’s Foss Which is not far from the village.

Janet’s Foss is a small waterfall in the vicinity of the village of Malham, North Yorkshire, England. It carries Gordale Beck over a limestone outcrop topped by tufa into a deep pool below. The pool was traditionally used for sheep dipping, an event which took on a carnival air and drew the village inhabitants for the social occasion.

The name Janet (sometimes Jennet) is thought to be a folk tale reference to a fairy queen who inhabited a cave at the rear of the fall. Foss is a Nordic word for waterfall, still used in Scandinavia, and is presented in a number of cases in England as ‘force’

Just before the waterfall is a short section of a mythical wood which reminded me a bit like something you see on the film Lord of the Rings. A couple of fallen trees have been completely covered in coins of varying size and denominations they are called wishing trees. An act I have since learnt is similar to tossing a coin into a wishing well.
 Leaving the mysterious waterfall and trees behind we continued on towards Gordale Scar which was created in the ice age when the melting ice water created a cavern that eventually collapsed creating the waterfall and gorge.

There were no other people around so we managed to get some good pictures and explore the area a bit.

There is a footpath up through the gorge but in the winter with the water running it is not passable so we turned around, retraced our steps for a while until we picked up the signpost towards Malham Cove/Tarn.

This is the only part of the walk which was a bit tough on the thighs and lungs on the ascent with beautiful views of the Yorkshire countryside. Geoff and I decided to eat our banana at this point which we both found hard going as we were struggling for breath!

From the top of the hill we walked towards Malham Tarn passing the Cove on our left. If I were to do this walk again with Angela I would miss the tarn out as in my opinion it is not the prettiest and you cannot walk all the way round. It may be different in the summer with a picnic!

Leaving the tarn behind we headed for the Limestone Pavement at the top of Malham Cove stopping for lunch and a brew first in a sheltered spot.

On reaching the limestone pavement Geoff and I both headed straight for the edge to have a good look down to bottom, something we would not normally be allowed to do or we would be told off by our wives! I think it’s a man thing.

Pictures taken we headed back down to the car and then drove the scenic route home.

Thanks to Geoff for showing me this lovely walk which I would definitely recommend to anyone in the area. Better to avoid weekends if you want it all to yourself though!