Yorkshire Dales - Malham

In spring this year, since it had generally been a warmer winter, we decided to spend a weekend walking in the Yorkshire Dales, near the village of Malham. It turned out to be a terrible weather weekend, but still we enjoyed the walks in the area, and would definitely revisit the Dales.

How to get there

We took a train to Leeds, where we stayed the night. Leeds is a city kind of a place, with a very harsh architecture and limited character to it. But once you get out of the city, its pretty! We hired a car from Leeds airport and then drove from there to Malham. It was a short drive, about 40 miles or so, and frankly, that was all we used the car for! Once there, the rest of our time was spent in walking around, and since all amenities were within a 5 min walk, the car remained parked for the rest of the weekend!

About the trip

We reached Malham in the morning, the drive from Leeds being very very pretty - small little villages on the way, stone houses, streams, green fields dotted with sheep, narrow roads once you get close to the Dales- just like they described in all the old English novels!

When we reached Malham, we realised it was a very small little village with about 10 houses, a stream running through it, green fields all around and hundreds of people visiting! We were staying at the River House, one of the B&Bs in the village.

Malham Cove

Malham falls on the 'Penine Way' : a cross UK country trail going from north to south, and hence has a couple of good walks around. There were some 5-6 day trail options near Malham, ranging from 2 hours to 8 hours. The first day, we walked on the 'Malham Spectacular Landscape' trail which was a short circular route of about 7 miles, taking about 2-3 hours to complete. The trail starts at the village, takes you to the Malham Cove, you walk up the mountain, stop at the limestone pavement, walk across fields, go past the 'Janets Foss' waterfall and come back to the village.

Link to the walks map

Limestone pavement

Malham cove was a huge cliff-face where you could see some people doing rock climbing. On the top of the cliff though, you can see such rock structures been made by water on limestone rocks - called the limestone pavement! The crevices are deep and hide many types of foliage.

Janets Foss

The walks in the fields were scenic; crossing gates, going up and down fences, jumping over small streams, walking through muddy tracks and farms dotted with sheep. It felt fresh and energising. The last part of the walk which went next to the waterfall was different from the rest though, with thick wild foliage and undergrowth all around. It almost felt like a tropical jungle!! On the trek, we also found a small trailer serving snacks and drinks! Alas, we had taken no money with us!

Tropical jungle?!

There were a lot of people on the trek, which surprised us a lot. One suggestion definitely is to wear waterproof clothes, as the clothes get very very muddy. We saw all kinds of weather while we did the walk - rain, snow (!), sleet, wind and sun - alternating with each other. It was a great experience though being wet and still going on walking!

The signage for the walks was ok. There were times when you had to make an educated guess on where to go as the signs were not clear and the map was tough to understand!

We came back to the hotel tired and wet and were ready for a hot tasty meal. We had dinner at Lister Arms which was one of the 3 eating places in the village and a 5 min walk from our B&B.

Dry Valley

The next day, we did a longer trek, upto Malham Tarn. It was about 8 kms and took us 2-3 hours. The first part of the trek was the same as the previous day - Malham cove, and up to the limestone pavement, but the rest was completely different. After the limestone pavement, we walked in the Dry valley, and over barren grassland (or moors) till the Tarn - a lake. There was a pretty manor on one side of it, and apparently a beautiful walk around it. The walk had started when the sun was out, but again turned out to be unpredictable weather - sleet, rain, sun, wind and cold!

Moors

We felt too cold by the time we reached the Tarn, so we did not walk around the lake but came back to the village soon. It was a pretty walk but not as much as the previous one. While coming back to the village, we saw some yaks grazing in the farms - which was quite a surprise as I did not realise there were yaks in England. We also saw some 100 sheep run behind a hay van which was quite a surprising sight for us. Everywhere in the UK we have seen sheep only sitting, grazing and lazing around. But they ran fast and with energy behind the hay van!

One back in Malham, we had lunch at Beck Hall next to the stream, sitting outside, with the sun shining and hot food! Overall both the days, we found the trail to be quite muddy and slippery because of the rain. It felt awesome to be out though, with fresh air everywhere. When it was sunny, the area looked even prettier - lush green shade everywhere around! There were also a lot of daffodils around, providing a nice yellow and white to the landscape around!

Food

The first day we had food at the Linter Arms which was a nice little pub full of people. Food for vegetarians was limited, but still we stayed there for more than 2 hours. There was a nice little wood fire burning in the pub and lot of board and card games were available. And since at a place like Malham, there is not much to do after 4-5pm as it gets dark, playing games and sitting next to the fire was what we did, and enjoyed thoroughly. We also realised there are things to do, even when you dont have the computer or the internet!

Beck Hall

The other place we ate something was at the Beck Hall which was just next to the stream. They had some sandwiches and scones which tasted lovely after the walk. Plus the shining sun and warm weather made it even more enjoyable.

Acco

We stayed at the River House, a small B&B in the village, It was nice and comfortable, with very friendly owners. And another great thing again was the wood fire burning in the evening, with sofas around them to sit and read a book. Isn't that a scene we have read many times in all the Jane Austen and other old English classics? When we experienced it, we loved it!