Adrian's Pennine Way Walk: Day 6 Malham to Horton Ribblesdale. Limestone country.

Thank you for being patient whilst I struggle with trying to find an internet connection. I appreciate it has been three days since my last post but we are still here, still working our way north and all is well. I can get excellent signals in the middle of a bog but no or very poor signals in the valleys. Since we generally camp in the valleys I have not been able to post. So here goes...

Day 6 Malham to Horton in Ribblesdale.

After a very long and violent thunderstorm last night we woke to a very clear and promising day. If anything it was too hot for me; I carried 2 litres of water and drank just about all of it. I also wore shorts, all day; the first time in said attire since the first optimistic and later abandoned attempt on day 1.

The guidebook describes today as “special”. Wainwright says “the limestone country around Malham is the best walkers’ territory so far encountered along the Pennine Way and there is nothing better to come.” He was not wrong. I know this area quite well and so knew what was to come but it never fails to impress.

Malham Cove was first up and I arrived a bit too late to get the best light; by the time I arrived after our drive from Settle the sun was burning out the highlights on the grey limestone cliffs.

Malham Cove

Looking back towards Malham from the top of Malham Cove

There were not many people about, surprisingly few given the weather. No climbers to be seen; perhaps a bit early for them. The path climbs up the side of the cove and onto the limestone pavement at the top; a geographer’s paradise. Clints, Grykes, dry and hanging valleys galore. I was reminded of the video you can find on You Tube by Kite Stu (not sure how you spell that) of water flowing over the top of Malham Cove in 2015 (?) for the first time in living memory. No water today, dry as a limestone pavement despite last night’s storms.

Then on to Malham Tarn. I remember the first I saw the Tarn as a teenager, I remember being bitterly disappointed. It was not what I was expecting as I thought as a tarn it must be surrounded by steep mountains having been gouged out of the rock by a glacier. I should have known better, Malham Tarn is interesting because it is surrounded by porous limestone. There should not be a lake there. It’s secret is that it sits on a bed of harder, less permeable, rock, Silurian slate. Today I also learned that it is a very important wet land habitat and is a nature reserve. There is a field centre at the side of the lake and there were a party of rather bored looking school children on what could only have been a biology field trip. They should consider themselves very lucky! I suspect, however that the geology field trip would be more interesting.

Malham Tarn

Then it was the long gentle climb up onto Fountains Fell, named after distant landowners from Fountains Abbey. There is a sign at the side of the path warning of open mine shafts in the area. Wainwright says these are coal mines which seems very strange to me but I live and learn. The view from the top of Fountains Fell was truly shocking as I got my first close up view of Pen-Y-Ghent, over which I was to climb, and it’s a monster!


Top of Fountains Fell with the bulk of Pen-Y-Ghent in the distance

Pen-Y-Ghent, the path goes up the left side, the steep side.

Wainwright has a bit of a rant about Pen-Y-Ghent. Firstly because he finds hyphens “irritating” and insists on calling it it Penyghent and secondly because it is named as a hill. He argued that it was a mountain not a hill. “It’s rough, stony and almost precipitous on its south and west ridges and it sticks up like a huge stranded whale on a beach… it’s an insult to describe it as a hill.” I am with him on that except that Pen-Y-Ghent means “Hill of the Winds”, so I think he is on a fruitless mission. In reality the climb up to the top of Pen-Y-Ghent was steep but very short and the “summit” arrived very quickly.

Pen-Y-Ghent "summit"

The same cannot be said of the descent into Horton. It was long and tedious on a gravel path that wound its way down the hill by not the most direct of routes.

We are now camped in a delightful little campsite in Horton, between the café and the pub. I think it has been here for years but I have never camped here before. It is very small and basic but has an area in the car park for “Caravanettes” with electric hook up and a two shower toilet block for the gentlemen but sadly only one shower for the ladies. The proprietor, Chris, inhabits his own tent which is like a Bedouin type of arrangement with colourful rugs across the ceiling and numerous paintings and easy chairs and a sofa along with all sorts of crockery and bric-a-brac stacked around the sides. It reminded me of Ben’s place in Local Hero. Chris is very friendly, we exchanged pleasantries about the weather and last night’s storm in particular and he explained that the gent’s was new and that the ladies was a work in progress. We will have to come back here.

Catherine cycled 36 miles around Malham, Grassington and Arncliffe (the original village in Emmerdale Farm, very interesting pub – that’s another story). Her route was thwarted by road menders resulting in newly laid tarmac adhering to new tyres. Tyres were duly scraped with a screw driver to clean them of their burden. Hands completely wrecked!

Now off to sample the delights of the Golden Lion (I think) and maybe take advantage of their wi-fi as there is no phone signal here.

Guidebook said: 14.5 miles

Garmin says: 15.9 miles; 5.6mph max; 3.1mph moving average; 2.5 mph overall average; 6hrs 21 minutes with 1hr 25 stoppages.