Walk #49 Malham Cove, Yorkshire

Walk 23 out of 100
Walk #49 - Malham Cove

Yorkshire

Overall Rating - ✪✪✪✪✪

Suggested Difficulty - Moderate

My Difficulty Rating - ✪✪✪

Suggested Time - 3 hours

Actual Time Taken - 3h 10m

Distance in book - 10.3km
Map my walk Distance - 11.09km

Visitor centre Start/Finish.

Completed this walk in January on my 29th birthday, and what a great way to celebrate getting another year older! This has to go down as one of my favourite walks so far, it really does have a bit of everything. The walk starts at the national park car park in Malham, as it is a very popular place to visit, there is an overflow car park in a nearby field which I had to use.

Malham

This walk has so much variety which is why I've rated it so highly. Not only does the walk include the impressive Malham cove, but it also includes the spectacular Gordale Scar and the beautiful waterfall, Janet's Foss. There is only one short steep climb to the top of Malham Cove and the rest is fairly straight forward.

Approaching Malham Cove

The first part of the walk leads you through Malham itself before taking you on a clear path along a river which flows out from under the cove. Malham cove is a large limestone rock formation that used to be a waterfall fed by glaciers during the last ice age. It must have been some sight! 

After reaching the cove and taking it all in, the route takes you up the side to climb to the top for amazing views across the Yorkshire Dales. It's an sheer drop to the one side if you're bad with heights (like me) then stay away from the edge! Watch your footing as well, the top is a bit of an ankle buster.

Approaching Gordale Scar

The walk doesn't stop impressing you here, a short walk from Malham Cove takes you to Gordale Scar. This limestone ravine consists of 2 waterfalls and overhanging cliffs over 100m high, it really does slap you in the face as you walk around a corner in a seemingly peaceful valley.

Janet's Foss

The walk isn't finished with you after the two impressive geological features, it then leads you to Janet's Foss and some beautiful woodland before leading you back towards Malham. Janet is supposedly the name of the fairy queen who lives behind the waterfall (foss being a Nordic word for waterfall). Whether you believe in fairies or not, it's still a pretty spot!

I couldn't recommend this walk highly enough, it's an easy route to follow with a wonderful taster of what the Yorkshire Dales has to offer without taking up your whole day. 

Thanks for reading.

Stef.

Here's the link to the walk on 'Map My Walk'

And follow me on Twitter @stefanvilla1991

Walk #36 Ivinghoe, Hertfordshire

View from the top of Ivinghoe Beacon.

Walk 22 out of 100
Walk #36 - Ivinghoe

Hertfordshire

Overall Rating - ✪✪✪✪

Suggested Difficulty - Challenging

My Difficulty Rating - ✪✪✪

Suggested Time - 5 hours

Actual Time Taken - 3h 42m

Distance in book - 16km
Map my walk Distance - 16.42km

Near Tring station Start/Finish.

Been a bit rubbish writing these up lately, when I completed this walk it was still 2019... Oh well, determined to crack on and do more walks in 2020 instead of doing them annually! The climb up Ivinghoe starts at Tring station, you can park there but you have to pay, I found a spot round the corner for free because you know, I'm tight and stuff!

Overall, this walk has a nice bit of variety, it starts with a hill climb, then goes through woodland which leads to a pretty little village before completing the walk alongside a canal. I've only given it a 3 star difficulty rating as the climb wasn't too tough and it didn't take anywhere near as long as the book suggested.

The first section of the walk gradually leads uphill gradually before reaching the Pitstone and Ivinghoe Hills. You get some fantastic views along the ridge line before reaching panoramic view at the top of the beacon. One problem I did have with the beacon is that it is obviously a very popular walk in the area so me being selfish, I wished there were fewer people around!

On top of the Ivinghoe Beacon.

After climbing down from the top of the busy summit, you end up in some rather nice woodland. Nice and easy to walk on the footpaths but still quite busy as you end up at the Ashridge Visitor Centre and Bridgewater Monument.

Bridgewater monument.

Aldbury.

The final section of the walk takes you through the pretty village of Aldbury before heading along a stretch of the Grand Union Canal back to the start of the walk.

I would recommend this one if you need to get away from the big smoke of London. The views at the top are decent, the route is pretty straight forward to follow, but be prepared for a busier walk than what you might want.

Thanks for reading.

Stef.

Here's the link to the walk on 'Map My Walk'

And follow me on Twitter @stefanvilla1991