walkhighlands

This board helps you to share your walking route experiences in England and Wales... or overseas.
Warning Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.

Dramatic Malham

Dramatic Malham


Postby Border Reiver » Sat Nov 10, 2012 12:55 pm

Date walked: 27/09/2012

Time taken: 6

Distance: 12.8 km

Ascent: 450m

4 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).

Driving from Skipton to Hawes, we had the time to spare to fit in a decent walk and decided to have a look at the Malham area, a place I hadn’t been to since the 1950’s.
Arriving in the National Park Visitor Centre car park, we found a few walkers preparing, as well as some large groups of young people who seemed to be on a field study day.
We crossed the stream in Malham Village and headed South on the hard path (Pennine Way) to Janet’s Foss, soon coming across a section of path that was partly under water, showing that the recent flooding in the area was still subsiding.

Image
Flooded path
After the path left the Pennine Way and turned East between fields and a stream, we came across one of the groups of young people gathered round a leader, most of whom said a cheery hello as we passed through.

Image

Some more parts of the path, although paved with large stones, were under a couple of inches of water, but each side was wetter and deeper, so we stayed on the path. After the open ground, the way enters a wooded gorge in Stoneybank Wood and closely follows the course of the stream, passing a fallen dead tree which has hundreds of coins hammered into it.

Image
Path to Janets Foss

Image
Coin Tree
At the end of the gorge is Janet’s Foss, a small waterfall in a pretty location, overhung all round with trees.

Image
Janet's Foss

Image
Janet's Foss

Leaving the falls, the path climbs a rocky staircase up the left side of the gorge, then crosses a short stretch of field to a tarmac road, where we turned right, walking along Goredale Lane a short way, crossing Goredale Bridge, until we reached a path on the left leading to Goredale Scar. The path to Goredale Scar is good, but had been eroded in places by the recent floods, leaving deep channels in the surface.

Image
Path to Goredale Scar.

We wandered up the valley, which soon closed in on us, then just before a waterfall, the walls reared up vertically and seemed to completely surround us.

Image
Goredale Scar.

A few other walkers were watching two people perched on a rocky pillar in the middle of the waterfall, who were slowly inching their way upwards. We stood as well, waiting to see if they would make it across the stream and round the corner, hoping that they wouldn’t slip and fall.

Image
Goredale Scar Falls - Note the two walkers in the middle of the Waterfall

They did make it and we walked back out of the cliff-lined scar and down to the road, only stopping to have lunch on the way.
Turning right onto the tarmac road, we re-crossed Goredale Bridge and went through a gate on our right onto a path which headed North-West, following a wall uphill, with a decent view opening up behind us.

Image
Looking back over Goredale

We crossed a few undulating grassy fields, passing the entrance to a dry valley, as the path became a gravel track again, veering West then North-West to reach another tarmac road. It had started to drizzle, so we put on light waterproofs and it immediately stopped, but it was cool so we kept them on.
We followed the winding road uphill for about ½ mile, until we saw the sign on our left for Malham Tarn. Taking this path across the moor, we came across the first bit of limestone pavement I’d seen.

Image
Limestone Pavement

Further on we sat and ate in the shelter of a grassy bank and looked out across miles of very impressive limestone pavements, stretching way to the East, while just above our seat was another vast area of the same.

Image
Dramatic limestone country

Photographs taken at this point were taken with the GPS of my new camera switched on, tracking our route. Back home, when I entered the coordinates of my photos onto Google Earth, it took me immediately to within 10m of where we had been sitting. The continual tracking wasn’t so successful, it was a bit out at times and at one point it suggested that we had been in Greece.
Continuing on the same path across the grassy moor, we soon saw Malham Tarn in the distance and eventually reached the roadside car park, where we turned West, crossed the bridge and joined the Pennine Way again, heading South back towards Malham village.

Image
Looking North towards Malham Tarn

The way seemed to disappear under water, but we realised that due to recent high water levels, the stream was running over ground and entering a sinkhole further down the valley than it normally would.

Image
Sinkhole

The grassy track becomes narrow and rocky as it winds its way down a narrow dry valley.

Image
First dry valley

At the bottom of this valley the path veers right around a headland which overlooks Watlowes, a very deep and impressive dry valley.

Image
Looking down into Watlowes

A steep, rocky staircase leads down into this huge scar cut in the hills.

Image

Some way down the path, my wife called me to come back. I had passed close to a lamb which was lying among the rocks, feebly lifting its head. We left it in case we did any harm and hurried on to report it to the farmer.
After a pleasant grassy stretch, the track becomes rocky again and suddenly arrives on the edge of Malham Cove.

Image
View from the top of Malham Cove

The cove was spectacular, with lots of impressive limestone pavement terraces and vertiginous views to the valley below.

Image

Image

We spotted some climbers on the vertical walls to the East side. Crossing the pavement we found the stone steps which led us steeply, in zigzags to the base of Malham Cove , which is hugely impressive from close up.

Image
Malham Cove from below

Image

From there we hurried on down a well-made path back to Malham Village where we reported the lamb to the first farm. They told us to report it to the National Park Centre, which we did…and they already knew about it and they were sending a ranger out.
Our first visit to the Malham area and we were impressed enough with the scenery to want to return some day.
Attachments

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

User avatar
Border Reiver
Wanderer
 
Posts: 1509
Munros:202   Corbetts:7
Fionas:3   Donalds:1
Sub 2000:2   Hewitts:62
Wainwrights:69   Islands:33
Joined: Feb 18, 2011
Location: North East England

Re: Dramatic Malham

Postby johnkaysleftleg » Sat Nov 10, 2012 1:43 pm

It's years since I've been to Malham. Your fantastic report has reminded me just how wonderful it is. Thank you for posting.
User avatar
johnkaysleftleg
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 3341
Munros:25   Corbetts:11
Fionas:11   Donalds:3
Sub 2000:7   Hewitts:172
Wainwrights:214   Islands:8
Joined: Jan 28, 2009
Location: County Durham

Re: Dramatic Malham

Postby SusieThePensioner » Sat Nov 10, 2012 6:21 pm

Like JK, it is years since we did that walk but, your narrative and photos certainly brought back some happy memories :D
User avatar
SusieThePensioner
 
Posts: 1543
Munros:6   Corbetts:3
Fionas:4   Donalds:7
Sub 2000:3   Hewitts:107
Wainwrights:156   
Joined: Sep 7, 2011
Location: County Durham

Re: Dramatic Malham

Postby ChrisW » Sat Nov 10, 2012 6:45 pm

Lovely report BR and as a Leeds lad it really made me miss home. It has been years since I was up there but the memories are as fresh now as they were so long ago thanks to your report and beautiful photos. I see you found the portal to Greece whilst you were there too :shock: ...................... try and keep the exact location to yourself or the place will be full of folks wanting to visit the Acropolis before you know it :lol:
User avatar
ChrisW
Rambler
 
Posts: 4941
Munros:18   Corbetts:5
Fionas:3   
Sub 2000:6   
Joined: Jan 25, 2011
Location: Cochrane- Alberta - Canada

Re: Dramatic Malham

Postby Graeme D » Sat Nov 10, 2012 9:31 pm

2 years since I was there. A wonderful place. Indeed, I just love the fell of the entire Yorkshire Dales. I'd love to spend a serious chunk of time back down there one day.
User avatar
Graeme D
 
Posts: 3996
Munros:251   Corbetts:123
Fionas:75   Donalds:22
Sub 2000:59   Hewitts:36
Wainwrights:28   Islands:6
Joined: Oct 17, 2008
Location: Perth

Re: Dramatic Malham

Postby Border Reiver » Sat Nov 10, 2012 9:58 pm

Thanks all for the replies, it was a great walk in an area I knew little about and didn't even know I'd been there as a youngster. It was so quiet and beautiful, even without sunshine.
Chris, the Greece thing was weird and I didn't even know I'd been there until I downloaded my track from my camera onto Google Earth when I got back home...oddly enough the still photos locations were very accurate.
I don't really need GPS like that in this country, but I could have done with it for locating photo spots when I was in Greenland & Norway.
User avatar
Border Reiver
Wanderer
 
Posts: 1509
Munros:202   Corbetts:7
Fionas:3   Donalds:1
Sub 2000:2   Hewitts:62
Wainwrights:69   Islands:33
Joined: Feb 18, 2011
Location: North East England

Re: Dramatic Malham

Postby mrssanta » Sun Nov 11, 2012 7:04 pm

that's a lot of water in the beck in Gordale. Usually it is quite straightforward to go up Gordale Scar around the waterfall. It's a great walk to take friends from abroad as they can see so many of the fascinating features of limestone country and be seriously impressed! :D
the geology of that area is fascinating too. you would think that the water coming out of the bottom of Malham Cove was the same stuff that went underground a bit upstream, but it isn't.
User avatar
mrssanta
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 3132
Munros:281   Corbetts:12
Fionas:3   
Sub 2000:12   Hewitts:43
Wainwrights:41   Islands:13
Joined: Jul 18, 2011
Location: north yorkshire moors

Re: Dramatic Malham

Postby simon-b » Sun Nov 11, 2012 10:34 pm

It's a great walk, BR, excellent report and photos. I've done a similar round three times, the last time this August. There wasn't as much water in Gordale Scar on any of those occasions as you encoutered, so it was always OK to carry on up the short scramble as mrssanta describes.

P8120133.JPG
User avatar
simon-b
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 2347
Munros:282   Corbetts:30
Fionas:7   Donalds:12
Sub 2000:1   Hewitts:155
Wainwrights:214   Islands:4
Joined: Jan 2, 2012
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire

4 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).




Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Walk reports - Outside Scotland

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests