Malham Cove

Join the UProjects team for a day out to Yorkshire, and a lovely 7.5 mile walk around Malham 

Cost £15 (including free transport from Oldham) Limited places.

This classic walk is developed in partnership and supported by Oldham Council`s Environmental Service and is featured in the Fit For Oldham project

Probably one of the most popular walks in the Yorkshire Dales National Park

A medium length circular walk that has rugged terrain and some steep sections that include scrambling 

Leaving our start point at Malham the walk will take us via the lovely waterfall at Janets Foss. Foss is the old Scandinavian word for waterfall. According to legend Janet, or Jennet was the Queen of the local fairies and lived in a cave behind the waterfall. The cave was formed by limestone bedrock being dissolved and eroded by the action of water and re-deposited on mosses growing on the lip of the fall. This has caused a remarkable but fragile tufa screen that reaches to the plunge pool below.

Janet's Foss

Onward to Gordale Scar, a narrow canyon towered on either side by sheer walls of rock, hundreds of feet high. Gordale Beck tumbles down the ravine, forming one final waterfall here over the tufa.   

Gordale Scar

Our route will now continue with a short, exciting scramble up the waterfall.

Ready to Scramble

From here we will continue for 2 miles to Malham Tarn which is one of only two natural lakes in the Dales, the other being Semer Water. Malham Tarn is a bit of a peculiarity in this limestone landscape, but lies in a shallow basin along a major geological fault on a bed of Silurian slate.

Malham Tarn

Finaly heading back to Malham we will save the best till last and eventually emerge  on the limestone pavement  above Malham Cove. Great care will be taken here crossing the clints and grikes of the limestone, and also in not going too close to the the edge of the 230 foot high cove!  We will descend by a good path for the spectacular wiew of the cove.

Limestone pavement at Malham Cove

 All futher information will be sent to participants before the walk event.