Malham Cove and Janet's Foss

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A glorious day when we headed for Malham. This was another area of Yorkshire we had heard so much about and were excited to see if it lived up to our expectations. 



These were a couple of images as we walked from Malham village toward our first `port of call` - Janet's Foss.


Behind the lovely waterfall of Janet’s Foss is a cave, hidden by the falling water. This is the home of Janet – Queen of the Fairies.There’s another cave close by called Janet’s Cave which visitors often mistake for the fairy’s home but this was just an unmagical overnight shelter for travelers and itinerant workers in past times.
The pool below the falls was used as a sheep wash, the water thought to bless the sheep with good health. Charles Kingsley knew this place and its stories, and he drew inspiration for The Water Babies from here, Malham Tarn and Arncliffe .
It’s a gorgeous spot but was a bit of a focus for deranged Victorian fairy hunters. 



The famous Gordale Scar. One of the jewels in the crown of the National Park, this awesome hidden gorge at Gordale has wowed visitors for hundreds of years and inspired famous artists and writers.
The water that flows over the waterfalls at the heart of the ravine is rich in dissolved limestone. This has precipitated out onto the mossy rocks to create the soft tufa screen that is such a feature at Gordale.



A view of our destination as we neared the top of the cove.


The limestone pavements on the top of the cove. You do have to watch your step, or a twisted ankle will come your way!
Conditions for limestone pavements are created when an advancing glacier scrapes away overburden and exposes horizontally bedded limestone, with subsequent glacial retreat leaving behind a flat, bare surface. Limestone is slightly soluble in water and especially in acid rain, so corrosive drainage along joints and cracks in the limestone can produce slabs called clints isolated by deep fissures called grikes or grykes[2] (terms derived from a northern English dialect). If the grykes are fairly straight and the clints are uniform in size, the resemblance to man-made paving stones is striking, but often they are less regular. Limestone pavements that develop beneath a mantle of topsoil usually exhibit more rounded forms.


View from the top, down toward the road.


A gathering storm as we made our way back home.


.... passing another famous landmark on the way - Ribblehead Viaduct. Ribblehead viaduct is probably the most famous of the many feats of Victorian engineering along the stunning Settle to Carlisle railway line. Its iconic location in the middle of the Three Peaks makes it a popular photo stop. 
The viaduct was built between 1870 and 1874 with up to 1000 navvies working on the construction site. The viaduct is 400m (440 yards) long with 24 arches spanning across Batty Moss. During construction the navvies were housed in camps close to the viaduct – Sebastopol, Belgravia and Batty Wife Hole – some of which had schools, libraries and pubs.  

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Location: Malham, Skipton BD23 4DJ, UK

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