Malham
Walks from Malham
About Malham
Malham is the most popular village in the Yorkshire Dales and on summer days and weekends it can get almost claustrophobic. However once you have left the tea shops and avoided the main track to Malham Cove the crowds are soon left behind and the fantastic limestone scenery can be enjoyed to the full. The village of Malham is very pretty; traditional stone buildings set alongside a pretty stream and enveloped by some great scenery. The facilities in the village are also good and has so far avoided the problems that commercialisation has wrought on its neighbours in the Lake District. The problem Malham has are simply its close access to Skipton and even Leeds and Manchester and of course the natural attraction of one of the great wonders in England, Malham Cove
Historically Malham is very traditional and unexceptional. Mentioned in the Domeday Book under the name of Maglan, the name meaning ‘Settlement by the gravelly places’ and was on a track called Mastiles Lane where Monks once trod. Lead mining and farming later dominated the landscape until tourism took over. However there is much more to Malham than just a tourist centre and is a very important conservation area. Designated a Site of Specific Scientific Interest the geology has created an educational centre for the area. The Yorkshire Dales National Park has created its main tourist and educational centre in Malham whilst on the north end of Malham Tarn the Field Studies Centre has a vast array of courses for both the public and as a focus for local educational establishments who come from as far as Bradford and Leeds.
The village of Malham has two pubs both offering similar fayre. The Listers is older with the sign above the door proclaiming a 1723 build and is probably the more presentable but both offer a good mix of traditional pub food, a beer garden, good beer and a more expensive restaurant. The Buck Inn is Grade 2 listed, has 2 large bars and is welcoming for all. There are a number of tea shops with home baking and selling local produce which complement the 2 pubs and on a good summer’s day walkers are strewn all over the village with beer or tea in hand, not a problem! Beck Hall is now offering more expensive meals (at least once a week) whilst accommodation options vary from nice rooms in the country inn’s to the Bunk House and the campsite a Gordale Scar.
As nice as the village is it is the surrounding area which makes Malham a stand out village. The village is situated on the Craven fault line along which the limestone scars are at their best and the superb rock formations are closest to the surface. The following are must sees in the area;
Malham Cove: this splendid amphitheatre of rock can be seen many miles to the south on the road from Skipton and is roughly 250′ high or 80 metres in new money. The stream that appears from the cave at its foot has found its way from the surface near Malham Tarn and travelled through the rock for about a mile. The best of the Cove is the splendid limestone pavement at the summit where Clints and Grykes offer a geological lesson of erosion over the years which should be seen ratehr than tought. Legend has it that Malham Cove is the inspiration for Charles Kingsley’s book the Water Babies where the black streaks are only visible as the sweep fell from the top.
Gordale Scar: approached by a well built track and an attractive picnic spot stream Gordale Scar suddenly jumps out of you. Originally the scar was an enormous cavern but the roof caved in leaving a narrow stone shoot which requires a certain amount of scrambling skills to ascend. Peregrine falcons have made the limestone gorge their home and are sometimes spotted circling the skies as you break out on to the Malham plateau – an amazing contrast to the rough gorge you have just passed through.
Janet’s Foss: a lovely setting just off the road near Gordale Scar this double waterfall makes a lovely picnic spot. Apparently the Queen of the Fairies – Jennet – is rumoured to live behind the waterfall.
Malham Tarn: the highest freshwater lake in England Malham Tarn has an average depth of only 2.4 metres and a maximum of 4. The banks of the tarn are a Nature Reserve and no fishing is allowed from here although 4 boats are available for hire from the Centre – fishermen know it therefore as the ‘forgotten tarn’. However Malham Tarn House offers a variety of courses, many residential on the banks of the Tarn and I would recommend taking one to learn about and discover this great area.
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