Malhamdale: one of the most popular Yorkshire Dales
Malhamdale’s fame is based around the village of Malham and neighbouring Malham Cove. The natural limestone amphitheatre of Malham Cove has inspired countless poets and writers. J.M.W. Turner spent time sketching at Malham Tarn, England’s highest freshwater lake and Charles Kingsley wrote 'The Water-Babies' whilst at Tarn House.
Park by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Centre, which has plenty of information about the area: they can also suggest more off-the-beaten track walks. Enjoy a wander around the village, criss-crossing the beck by the fords and ancient small bridges.
There’s a short woodland walk, and you can peek inside Malham Smithy and see Annabelle the Blacksmith at work. Don't forget to look out for the old sheep pinfold in the village too.
Many visitors climb the steep steps to the famous limestone pavement, a photogenic curiosity and very special habitat. Limestone pavements are quite rare and the majority of them in Britain are to be found in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Cumbria.
Limestone pavements were first formed by ice sheets which effectively scoured the limestone rock. The block-like pavement effect comes from the clints and grikes in the blocks of limestone. The clints are the flat slabs of limestone and the grikes the cracks between them which have been widened by water over time.
A unique range of flora grows between the clints and grikes on the limestone pavements, protected from the grazing sheep.
In Spring each year volunteers and staff from the RSPB and Yorkshire Dales National Park set up their telescopes at the base of Malham Cove. They offer members of the public the chance to see the Malham Peregrine Falcons.
Janet’s Foss is another draw for visitors. Foss means force or waterfall, probably an old nordic name. It's not a big waterfall but it does seem to hold visitors spellbound.
Janet's Foss was once used for sheep dipping. Now it's simply a lovely spot for wild swimming or just to sit and enjoy the beauty. A little way down the path from the waterfall are a couple of tree stumps with hundreds of pennies pressed into them. Add a coin of your own and make a wish to the queen of the fairies. Janet is the Queen of the Fairies and lives in a cave behind the waterfall.
I think you can tell this is a special enchanted spot thanks to the vivid greens, mossy tufa screen and dappled light. This wooded area is rich in wildflowers, ferns, mosses and birdlife, making it feel like a magical gathering place for all that's most beautiful in the Yorkshire Dales.
It's said that the cave was once inhabited by copper workers working a local mine. Their lives would have been a hard slog but given the beauty of this bewitching little spot, it's tempting to imagine them wearing brightly coloured outfits and singing as they went off to work like the Seven Dwarves.
Read more about the area around Malham
