Malham Cove - North Yorkshire

On the 19th Feb I headed up into the Dales with the Mother and my sister. The sun was out and it wasn't too chilly so we went up to Malham Cove, which I've been wanting to see for ages but just haven't gotten round to it. It's about an hour and a half drive from York with the roads getting noticeably narrower the closer you get to Malham.

Malham Cove - close up

 We parked in Malham village at the Dales Visitor Centre (it was packed!) and from there we walked in the direction of the Cove until we came to the footpath that leads to it. The Footpath follows the river Aire and I imagine in summer it would be very tempting to go paddling. The river seems to come directly out of the base of the cove, it looks rather odd.

Malham Cove 

After you've walked right to the base of the Cove and gotten dizzy from looking up at it you can back track a little and turn right and up some steps (about 400 of them) up to the limestone pavement. The view across the dales as you climb is pretty nice, which was handy because we kept stopping for letting people pass and because it's rather tiring.

Limestone Pavement above the Cove

The limestone pavement itself is rather fun, though perhaps not so much for those who are unsteady on their feet (my mother for example). The majority of the rocks are nice and stable and it's easy to stroll across them, but there was an occasional wobbly one, just to keep you on your toes. We didn't dare to venture near the edge, falling to my death wasn't all that appealing surprisingly. The cracks between and in the top of the rocks are rather interesting, almost artistic. I amused myself trying to spot shapes in them. From here you can carry on walking up to Malham tarn, but given the time of day we didn't think we had time to get there and back before darkness fell.

A 'crack' in the Limestone Pavement

The walk back was as pleasant as the walk there, perhaps even a little more as the wind had dropped. We called at a small cafe on our way back to the car for a caffeine boost and a bit of cake before the drive back. There are a fair few places to eat in Malham but I imagine it's hard to find a table in the height of summer so packed lunch is recommended.

Excellent sky

The area has its own website: http://www.malhamdale.com/ which seems to have plenty of information on it for planning your own visit. Also, if you fancy trying a good walk around the area taking in a few more sights around the cove then the Walking Englishman has details of a three hour walk around the area which looks rather good: http://www.walkingenglishman.com/dales17.htm