Area Guide

The popular village of Malham has a small population of around 200 people but attracts many visitors year upon year. Malham is sheltered by a cove at the south of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, surrounded by limestone pavements. It has become a renowned walking destination, partly due to the Pennine way passing through the village. The beautiful village has the usual Dales characteristics with stone houses, dry stone walls and a perfect Yorkshire bridge over the stream flowing through the centre of Malham from the Beck.

Malham Cove

To us, the real breath taking beauty of Malham is the limestone amphitheatre formed over millions of years known as Malham Cove. The cove is a staggering 80 metres high by 300 metres wide and can be seen for many miles to the south of the village. At the summit of the cove there is magnificent limestone pavement, which has become extremely eroded forming a strange pattern rarely seen in the UK, this has put this area in the top ten geographical wonders in Britain – so definitely worth a visit. It has also been rumoured that Malham Cove was the inspiration for Charles Kingsley’s book the Water Babies.

Gordale Scar

Gordale Scar is a massive limestone gorge created by water from melting glaciers around 15-16 million years ago, roughly 1.5 miles north east of Malham. The dramatic gorge is worth a visit, not only to appreciate the sheer size, but to view the waterfall created by the stream that flows through the gorge to Gordale Beck, at times of heavy rainfall the waterfall is quite spectacular. As an added bonus you may be lucky enough to see Peregrine Falcons as Gordale Scar is home to many.

Malham Tarn

Malham Tarn is England’s highest fresh water lake at 150 acres with a 4 metre maximum depth. The Tarn can be accessed all year round from Street Gate on Malham Moor, roughly 3 miles north of Malham. There is also a lot of wildlife at the tarn such as insects like the rare caddis fly which thrives on the unique habitat of the Malham Tarn.

Malham’s claim to fame

The blockbuster Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow was filmed at Malham Cove in November 2009.