36 Hours in the Yorkshire Dales: The Best Hike and Places to visit

"The path reveals itself once you start walking"

The Yorkshire Dales is by far one of the most scenic areas in England. It has everything you could wish for, for a spontaneous night away with stunning hikes and views around every corner.

It was Saturday night and having planned a walk on the Sunday it turned into 'should we stay over and have a cheeky night away?' Because we are retired and so have some flexibility in what we choose to do we thought why not and out came the Airbnb.com and Booking.com apps. It took 5 minutes to find somewhere to stay and so overnight bags packed we settled in to our Saturday night and set our alarms planning to leave around 8-9am on the Sunday. Ordinarily we would consider staying in our Ineos Grenadier but to be honest getting the bed out and sorting the bedding for one night felt like too much trouble so a reasonably priced bnb was our answer.

Anyway enough of the rationale let's get into where we chose, why and how it was!

This is just one suggestion as to be honest there are whole books written on the Yorkshire Dales (The No Fuss Travel Guide- Road Trip Yorkshire by Robbie Roams is one excellent example).

36 Hours in the Yorkshire Dales: The Best Hike and Places to visit.

If you've only got a day you should definitely include Malham a small village in the Yorkshire Dales on the Pennine Way for your taste of the Dales.

Why Malham?

Malham was originally mentioned in the Doomsday Book being called Malgun which describes 'a settlement by the gravelly places' and has been inhabited for over 1,000 years. You can see traces of the iron age and more recently how the industry has changed from mills and mines to hill farms and tourism. The population of Malham is about 220 people.

The Yorkshire Dales are formed from glacial valleys and exposed moorland being predominantly carboniferous limestone. The 7 main rivers in the area provide the different catchment areas namely, Aire, Lune, Nidd, Ribble, Swale, Ure and Wharf. The limestone can be clearly seen in the dry stone walls, but also in the gorges cut by the ice age eg Gordale Scar and the huge amphitheatre type escarpment of Malham Cove. The Yorkshire Dales being located in the Pennines, extend to Cumbria and Lancashire but remain in the historic boundaries of Yorkshire and since 1954 within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Hiking is very popular within the Yorkshire Dales with a number of well known hikes or public rights of way such as the Dales Way, the Pennine Way, The Coast to Coast long distance route and the Yorkshire 3 peaks. These hikes are for those who have generally hiked before and are used to climbing and achieving elevations above 1,000'. Our choice was to start with a shorter distance and an elevation gain of less than the 1,000'. Malham Cove Landscape Trail fit the bill nicely.

Where to Start

Arriving in Malham we would firstly suggest doing this hike on a weekday as at the weekend the village becomes very busy and parking is more expensive. We paid £8 to park all day in the village car park (a field opposite the visitors centre) as we arrived on a Sunday whereas it was £6 in the visitors centre car park or in the week if you park on the road you can make a donation into the milk churns dotted about the village. The funds raised from car parking are use to improve the village so we honestly didn't mind the £8 as it was being used purposefully and we think the village could quickly become spoilt by tourists.

The hike we suggest is a circular route taking in the main sights, it is just under 5 miles (8 Km) long with an elevation gain of 820' (250m). We would also suggest taking the anticlockwise route as this way you avoid climbing 400 steps and you also see a panoramic view of Malham Cove appear before your eyes across the field.

Janet's Foss

Starting at the visitors centre, cross the road go around the side of the building opposite then cross the stream over an iron and York Stone bridge and head for Janet's Foss. It is signposted well and as you step off the bridge turn right following the well laid out footpath.

From here directions are not needed as you take the path through the fields along the limestone walls and the river, through some woodland until you reach the waterfall called Janet's Foss. On a warm day you may see people bathing and you may wish to take a dip too. We didn't as this hadn't been in our spontaneous plan 😂 so we just admired those who did and carried on.

Leaving at the left side of the waterfall there is a short climb between the rocks which can be very slippy even with walking boots/shoes so take your time and don't refuse help if needed. I had to put my camera down and use both hands to steady myself climbing the rocks. You then follow the path again until you get to a layby selling food with a couple of tables. It's at this point you can choose which way to go.

Gordale Scar

If you carry on a short way after the layby you get to a gate with a path to the left. Pass through the gate and follow the path as it only leads to one place which is Gordale Scar. You walk alongside the meandering river until you reach a rock face where the path curves around the base. As you turn the corner its an 'Oh WOW' moment as the great ravine appears before you and you see the waterfalls spilling onto the huge boulders below. This ravine or gorge was produced by the melting ice from the ice age some 3 million years ago.

Some people were adventurously climbing the rocks up to the first waterfall but most stood at the bottom marvelling at the height of the rocks.

From here you walk back along the path with the river now on your right until you pass through the gate, turn right and reach the food truck or layby again.

Malham Cove

Behind the layby is the signposted path for Malham Cove which quickly becomes a flight of steps ascending the hillside.

There is really only one way to go at the top of the steps so as you keep to the path you will cross fields and get to a point where you bear left through a swing gate then cross over a set of steps over the limestone wall. At this point you are not far from the limestone structure everyone is talking about.

As you cross the last field you suddenly see Malham Cove come into view and it is breathtaking. Again you have to make your way down the hillside before you reach the giant pavement and take care as the rocks are protruding the grass and some are slippy.

The giant pavement looks like a jigsaw puzzle of rock where the pieces have not yet been slotted together. There are indentations formed from pools of water and large crevices which could certainly sprain your ankle if you slipped in between. I took it really slowly over here and took nothing for granted as some of the rocks were surprisingly loose underneath too.

At the top just pause in amazement and look out to the valley below knowing that where you are stood was once where the melt water from the last glacier, over 12,000 years ago, cascaded over the 260 feet (80m) drop to the basin. The width of water was 984 feet (300m) and because the lip of the rock was more heavily eroded than the sides it caused the rock to be curved like an amphitheatre.

There hasn't been a waterfall here since 1824 except once in 2015. The heavy rainfall in Storm Desmond caused water to fall over the top on 6th December for a few hours. It made it the highest single drop waterfall above ground in England for this short time.

As you cross the pavement you can look out to the village of Malham and beyond and then look down to see the micro climates in between the gaps (called Grykes) where there are rare flowers and ferns.

It is also fascinating to know the Cove has been used in several film/TV productions such as Harry Potter The Deathly Hallows and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

After crossing the pavement it's time to descend the Cove back to the valley. There is only one way and that is to take the 400 steps down. These steps form part of the Pennine Way and are rough stone steps of different sizes formed from the rock. There is no handrail and so again especially when it's wet they can be really slippy. (I saw two people slip). The path you see along the valley is your route back to Malham Village which you can just see in the distance.

Walking back through the valley its important you turn around to look at the magnitude of the Malham Cove. It is then when you realise how impressive this is.

Leaving the path through the valley you exit a gate and turn left onto the road. this leads you back to the village passing Beck Hall Hotel and the Malham Smithy.

Arriving back at the village its time for quick refreshments and there are a few places to choose from. We opted for soup and coffee in The Old Barn and thoroughly enjoyed it

The total walk was about 4.5 miles with an elevation gain of 820 feet. It took around 3 hours as we took the first half slowly admiring the the surrounding countryside and then treading carefully over the slippy limestone.

Staying over for the night in the Yorkshire Dales we chose an Airbnb called The Cow Shed near to Skipton at Embsay. It wasnt actually part of a farm it was a room above a garage in a modern house. The room was decorated beautifully and had everything you needed with a small kitchen and ensuite. There was even a welcome pack with water, crisps and biscuits.

In the evening we had booked to go out for dinner back in Malham at Beck Hall a fully vegan hotel. The rain was pouring but we dressed up to go out and had Sunday roast with a chilled wine and beer. Tomorrow will be a new view and a new village.

Hawes

Leaving the Airbnb in Embsay we drove through some gorgeous countryside through Kettlewell, Buckden and Oughtershaw. Our destination was Hawes a traditional market town, the highest in England, with lots of independent shops and cafes. It provides a great base for exploring and is famous for Wensleydale cheese.

We only had a half day here but close by there is England's largest single drop waterfall called Hardraw Force and the famous Ribblehead Viaduct. There is also a circular walk around Hawes which is 11 miles long which can be completed in shorter sections.

We opted to have brunch at the Penny Garth Cafe then had to leave to return home but we honestly didn't want to as there is so much to see and do in the Dales. We made the commitment to return very soon armed with our No Fuss Travel Guide. (This is not a paid promotion).

So if you have 36 hours in the Yorkshire Dales: this is the best hike and places to visit. Staying overnight was a great decision and the sense of wellbeing after being exposed to such stunning scenery and hiking even in changeable weather was so beneficial. Being spontaneous and making the most of everyday is what retirement is all about.

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Thank you

Karen and Michael

2 On Tour Explore