Malham

On Saturday I had a day out walking round Malham with Jen. This area is blessed with some spectacular limestone scenery, such as Gordale Scar and Malham Cove all contained in a compact area.
We started by following the river into the wooded gorge containing Janets Foss, a waterfall formed by a tufa apron. Thanks to the recent rainfall and snow melt the falls were in full spate.

We continued upstream over the road into Goredale. Goredale Scar is always an impressive place where the valley narrows and the high limestone walls close in and once again the waterfalls were in full spate adding to the dramatic atmosphere.

We retraced our steps back to the road and took the footpath to Malham Cove. The path took us through a field with an iron age settlement, past the Watlowes dry valley and over to the top of the cove. It was on this stretch that we saw our first wheatears of the year, another welcome sign of spring. From here we followed the dry valley northwards past some water sinks and on to Malham Tarn. This is a bleak and exposed stretch of water resonating with the bubbling trill of curlews and on a cold day not a place to hang about. We headed back to the top of the Cove over the limestone pavement and followed steps down to the bottom where we saw a few teams of climbers working on various projects.

Malham Cove is the most impressive limestone feature in the area and proved a fitting finale to a walk full of interest.