Malham - Simply Awesome 24/10/10

Despite living relatively close to Malham for most of my life and driving around the area quite a bit, I have only ever walked there once, way back when I was still at school. But having got the walking bug it seemed a nice place to go..For the back end of October it was a glorious day albeit a little cold, and so we set of to the Dales.
Having parked in the main carpark and after buying a little map of the area we followed the path out of the village and very soon were walking through farmland. Despite the temperature in the car showing only 6 degrees it really felt quite warm in the sun. The path followed a busy little brook and across the field I could see flocks of birds flying overhead and around a stand of trees. I believe they were Fieldfare which do visit for the winter and they ended up following us for most of the walk.

Soon the path enter a steeply wooded valley with limestone on both sides, a lot coloured green with the lichen growing on it, but also bare crags too, this part of the walk was very busy with quite a number of families on the track, and after a short while the path turned and in front of us was Janet's Foss. this is a waterfall which although not very high was quite dramatic. I believe the name comes from an alleged witch who was supposed to live in a cave behind the fall. After a short stop to admire the falls and take photos (below)
 we followed the path away from the foss and reached a minor road.

Following the road for a few hundred yards we set off along another path leading to Gordale Scar.

We were now entering an impressive limestone valley with bare limestone topped hills on either side. The hills on the left in particular did not need much imagination to see them topped with natural battlements.

 As we walked, the sunlit valley narrowed and with a turn in the path we now saw the dramatic end to the valley. In front of us set in shadowed cliffs was the scar itself, with a waterfall cascading over the rocks and looking above and beyond another fall coming out of through an arch to meet the flood above the main fall. This really is on of the most impressive sight we have seen on our walks.

Now the proper thing to do is to climb up the fall to reached the upper valley but the amount of water made this a foolhardy idea and so reluctantly (at least on my part) we left the scar and retraced our steps back down to the road. I did mention to two women what I thought about climbing the fall, much to their relief I think as the guy they were with seemed determined for them to do the climb and they were definitely not keen. Its definitely something for the summer when the water is a lot less.

Having reached the road we now branched off and started to climb a path which offered great views of the surrounding area as well as the still majestic limestone cover hills. This was a far quieter route than the one to the foss and the scar and we could hear nothing but the sound of nature. After climbing for a liitle while the vista looking back towards Pendle Hil opened up and having found a nice group of rocks, we left the path to sit and take our snack. While we were sat we could still see the flocks of Fieldfare flying off the hills above us to descend into the valley and the farmland.
Continuing onward we followed the path until it reached a minor road and having crossed, climbed a stile and headed toward the top of Malham Cove. Looking north we could see the rounded limestone topped hills of the Watlows which stand over the route from Malham Tarn which has been left for another day, and soon we arrived at the amazing limestone pavement at the top of the Cove.

It really is stunning to see what water has done over the millenia, the patterns on the stone are amazing and in summer it must look even better with the plants and flowers growing in the grykes (flash back to school geography there ) between the stone.
We spent a little time on the top (keeping away from the edge) and admiring the views before starting the descent by man made steps. These led down to the base of the cove where Malham Beck emerges. This is a very popular spot for rock climbers and the Cove had several groups on it. We finally left the Cove behind and followed the path as it led back to the village, where we found a nice place selling food and had a cream tea sat by the beck before returning to the car.
The walk was around 4-5 miles and very busy in parts, the price to pay for such amazing countryside. As usual our pace was sedate and all told we spent almost 5 hours out and about.
I though the white peaks in derbyshire reminded me of this area but they cannot compare, I love the area around Pendle hill, the lake district is beautiful but this surpasses them all. (Hence all the pictures)
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