It's been a wet week but the Little Chaps still managed to "lose" the river!
Well, that was a rubbish week weather-wise! Luckily the rain was forecast to hold off on Saturday, which put the pressure on to find somewhere that wouldn't be horrible underfoot and still had the interest-factor which, after going through the possibilities in our heads, led to the question:
“Do you want to climb a waterfall?"
"Don't be silly Daddy, that's not possible" was the initial response which lead to, as it turns out, a foolish bet (more later) and with a decent forecast, we were on. Cue packing of bags, making of lunch and, because it's that time of year already, frantic looking for the warm gloves and hats.
Why Malham?
Firstly, it's lovely and doesn't take much effort to get away from the tourist trail. Avoiding the main summer season means it's usually quieter as well.
Secondly, and as many of you who have done Geography at school will know, it is an amazing area of interest in terms of the rock and scenery. Loads of interesting features means loads to talk about and plenty to help keep us moving when energy levels, inevitably, drop. The underlying geology also means it drains quickly and is much nicer to walk on that many of the other tops in the Dales after a significant period of wet weather.
See the route we followed here - Malham & Goredale
pics: Janet's Foss, Goredale Scar and Goredale Waterfall
Always have a back up plan (Daddy might have been overly-ambitious!)
An easy start follows decent paths from Malham along the beck, towards Janet's Foss and Goredale. There was clearly still a lot of water around, especially seeing the size of the falls at Janet's Foss. We didn't hang around long as the main objective lay ahead and we followed the short road section, then through the campsite and into Goredale Scar. It was clear the river level was high but it was only as we rounded the corner that is became clear how high. I've been this way loads in the in dry, wet and snowy conditions but wasn't expecting quite so much water. With water pouring over the bit where you climb (you climb easily on good holds in the middle, right where the smaller stream is in the picture!), clearly we weren't going this way. Not only did this mean we needed to retrace our steps and amend our route, it also meant that the Little Chaps initial response to my question was, in fact, correct and my bet that we could climb a waterfall was lost - I had to buy the cake!
“Who's lost the river?"
Once we'd done the less exciting climb up (see hints and tips for keeping the Chaps going) and got up to Malham Tarn, the path follows the Pennine Way back to Malham village. Easy to navigate if you follow the river so you are in charge, we told the Little Chaps. I haven't seen so much water up here before (didn't get up here the other winter when Malham Cove amazingly became a waterfall again) which was great to see and the water was really flowing out from the tarn towards the water sinks. The river "disappears" underground in a number of water sinks along here and we made great progress back towards Malham, wondering why the river was getting smaller and smaller as we went downhill.
pics: alot of water up here, the water sink lower down, limestone pavement
We wandered down the dry valley (managing to remove our waterproofs along the way which was a great way to finish the day), looking for the river and wondering what sort of pavement we could possibly find in the countryside. We met the crowds again at the top of the Cove, avoided losing either of the little chaps in a gryke (gap in the pavement!) and found the river again a the base of the Cove. An easy stroll back into Malham for Daddy's forefit.
So, a great day out, but we have unfinished business and will be back when it is drier to finally climb the waterfall.
Route info here: Where's the river gone?
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