A Sunny Stroll to Malham Cove

Distance: 4km; Ascent: 110m; Sunny; with Lynsey, Isabel, Kim, Rachel, Jim, Edward, Rebekah, Oli, Anna and Gwilym.

See route in new window

It was gloriously sunny when we woke up this morning, although it was quite cold as there had been an overnight frost.  After breakfast and packing up we drove round to Malham; the roads were quite icy in places but we took it slow and made it to the National Park car park without incident.  As it was already late morning we headed to the nearby pub of The Buck Inn for a light lunch.

The path towards Malham Cove

After lunch we set off walking at 1pm, with four of the group carrying a baby in a variety of carriers, including me carrying Isabel on my back.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the path had been extended slightly since our last visit back in 2008 resulting in less road walking, which can only be good!

Limestone pavement on the top of Malham Cove

We wandered up the good path at a relatively slow pace, as Isabel walked some of the way, to reach the base of the cove.  With her back on my back we ascended up to the top of the cove to admire the limestone pavement and the extensive views.

A side-on view of Malham Cove

We returned the same way to the base of the cove, from where we could pick out a couple of climbers near the bottom.  Once back down by the river, we retraced our steps back to the car park where we arrived soon after 3pm; it had been a good afternoon's stroll in the winter sunshine.

The bottom of Malham Cove

Written up in April 2012 from memories and photos