Malham Cove

Some friends invited me on a day trip to Yorkshire - somewhere I'd never really been before!  We were walking a route to the famous Malham Cove, and I don't think there were many geological features we didn't come across on the way.  Plus we had gorgeously hot weather.  I wore shorts and a Tshirt the whole day!

Me and Janet

Leaving the car park, we walked through Malham village, down through some fields and into a woods that was absolutely SWAMPED with wild garlic.  I kid you not, it was blanketing the place.  I munched a bit as we headed up the stream to arrive at Janet's Foss, a beautiful secluded waterfall.

Janet (or Jennet) is a fairy who lives on the other side of the falls, so if you do climb round to the far side, be sure to be polite and not disturb her.  I was happy to sit on a rock and dandle my feet in the chilly water, while Willow the spaniel dove straight in.

Willow with her booties!

Claire and Rach

Phil, Jonny, Rachael and Claire take a load off

The path heads out of the woods onto the edge of the moors and fields, and across to Gordale Scar, a massive gorge in the rock that funnels into the limestone cliffs.  At the end of it climbers were trying to make it up the vertical face, while more casual adventurers could go up over the boulder formation and over to the top.  Jonny and Phil decided to have a go... and that was the last we saw of them for over half an hour!  But we had lunch to eat, and paddling and sunbathing to do.

Gordale Scar

I loved watching the rooks passing over the gorge.  Such an impassable chasm in the earth is nothing to them!

Once out of the gorge, we walked up and into the sunshine and up the long open (and very hot!) hill to Malham Cove.  This is a bizarre limestone cliff in a natural amphitheatre-like curve and great views over the valley.  Even stranger is the top of the Cove itself which, as well as dropping off sharply, is broken up like giant crazy paving.  Once up on top of it, you have to step from stone to stone to make your way along the length of the clifftop to the way down!

Once down the other side there's a large flat area with a stream running through (more paddling!) and a chance to try and spot the Peregrine Falcons nesting up under the clifftop.  Once we were back at the village, we had a lovely pub dinner at the Buck Inn, in the warm evening sun, across the road from a tiny wood called Dingly Dell, which was up for sale!  Oh how I wanted to buy it and be the Mistress of Dingly Dell!