Malham Cove is Yorkshire’s great natural amphitheatre — a sheer curved wall of white limestone, 80 metres high and 300 metres wide, rising out of the Dales like something from another continent. Formed by a vast ice-age waterfall that would have dwarfed Niagara, it is the most dramatic sight in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the centrepiece of one of the finest short walks in England.
The Cove and the Pavement
An easy, mostly level path leads from Malham village to the foot of the cove in about fifteen minutes — where craning your neck at the overhanging wall, often with climbers dotted across it and peregrine falcons wheeling above, is properly humbling. Then come the 400-odd stone steps up the cove’s western flank to the top, and the reward: the famous limestone pavement, a moonscape of clints and grikes right on the cliff edge, where Harry and Hermione camped in the Deathly Hallows film. The views down Malhamdale go on forever. (Keep dogs and small children close near the edge — it is unfenced.)
The Classic Malham Circuit
The cove is one jewel on a necklace. The celebrated circular walk from the village takes in Janet’s Foss — a fairy-glen waterfall in mossy woodland — then the mighty rock cleft of Gordale Scar, before returning over the tops to the cove itself: around five miles of the best limestone country in Britain. Add Malham Tarn, the mysterious upland lake that feeds the landscape, if you’ve a full day in your legs. In nesting season, conservation volunteers often set up telescopes below the cove so visitors can watch the peregrines — a wonderful free spectacle.
Visiting Malham
Malham village, with its national park centre, cafés and pubs, is the natural base — but be warned, its car parks overflow on fine weekends, so arrive early or come midweek. Paths to the cove are good, but the steps and the pavement demand proper footwear, and the pavement is treacherous when wet. The village is signed from the A65 near Skipton, deep in the southern Dales.
Plan Your Visit
Walking routes, parking and visitor information are on the Yorkshire Dales National Park website.
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