Malham: Geology, History and Folklore
From Hike YorkshireVanishing rivers, a fairy waterfall and a Harry Potter filming location. A guided walk to Malham Cove, Gordale Scar, Janet's Foss and Malham Tarn, with the geology and folklore of England's finest limestone scenery explained.
About This Experience
England's Finest Limestone Scenery
Malham is the most dramatic limestone landscape in England, and almost everything about it is strange. Rivers vanish into the ground, waterfalls pour from gorges, and a dry valley leads to the lip of a cliff where a waterfall once fell. This guided walk explains how it all came to be, from a tropical sea three hundred million years ago to the ice that carved the valleys.
The Route
We leave Malham village through meadows to Janet's Foss, a waterfall falling into a clear pool, where local tradition says the queen of the fairies lived in a cave behind the falls. From there we visit Gordale Scar, a gorge around a hundred metres deep, before crossing open limestone country to Malham Tarn, a glacial lake and the site of the UK's largest water vole reintroduction.
The Vanishing River
The stream leaving Malham Tarn disappears underground within a few hundred metres at Water Sinks. Dye tracing has shown most of it reappears south of Malham village up to a day later. We follow the dry valley of Watlowes to the top of Malham Cove, a curved limestone cliff around seventy metres high that last carried a waterfall at the end of the Ice Age.
Harry Potter's Pavement
The limestone pavement on top of the Cove, with its deep cracks and sheltered woodland plants, is where Harry and Hermione pitched their tent in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One.
Your Guide
Walks are led by Hike Yorkshire's guides, veterans of the British Army and Royal Marines, who bring the geology, ecology and folklore of the landscape to life as you go.
Good to Know
The walk is about 7.5 miles and takes around four hours. It starts and finishes at the Malham National Park Centre car park. The route includes field paths, rough moorland tracks, uneven limestone pavement and a long flight of stone steps, so a moderate level of fitness is needed. Bring walking boots, a waterproof, a warm layer, water and a packed lunch. Dogs are welcome on a lead.
Booking
Request your date at www.hikeyorkshire.com and we will be in touch to arrange it.
