On the third Sunday of the month, a lone bus runs from the Leeds Bus Station near our house to the small village of Malham in the Yorkshire Dales. As we found our seats in the bus, the gaiter-clad feet sticking into the aisle and the outerwear draped over seats identified the passengers as fellow walkers. We bounced along the tight, rock wall-lined roads for about an hour, disembarked in Malham, and set out on a loop hike that would climb the limestone drainage of Garsdale Scar, traverse a section of the grassy highland, and then descend into Malham Cove.
From the confluence that marks the start of the River Aire (the industrial waterway that runs near our place), we ascended a narrow, wooded drainage past some nice cascades and pools. We passed some families sledding in a clearing, then entered a new segment of the drainage where the walls rose hundreds of feet from the creek. From a couple who pointed at the frozen waterfall blocking our passage and said, "Doesn't look like anyone's heading up the Scar today," we inferred that our route actually did lead through the icy scramble. Kel and I negotiated the iced-over creek bottom to the base of the scramble, and a moment later she'd found a route up bare rock and was waving me up. In the photo below, our route lead up the central boulder that's neatly framed by waterfalls on either side.
This ascent led to a spectacular rock bowl a hundred and fifty feet across. Icicles hung from seeps in the rock face, and water cascaded down into the basin through an arch. We worked our way up the ice-encrusted rock pile, then climbed into a tiny sheltered cave pocket to eat our lunch.
Once on the level terrain of the high country, I looked back across the drainage and spotted an ermine in its white winter coat and back-tipped tail! We travelled along old pathways and through pastures.
We found the head of the Malham drainage, and descended back through the limestone layer. There were some cracked limestone formations, a cliff face at Malham Cove, and views out over the snowy countryside.
Like all good English walks, the Gorsdale-Malham circuit ended at a country pub. The Buck Inn welcomed us, wet gear and all, into the stone-floored walker's half of the bar.
