Saturday 24 July 2021

Malham

The weather was gorgeous last Friday so Mick decided to take a day off work and we headed off into the Yorkshire Dales. We started off in Malham, a small village in the Pennines. Most visitors pass through on their way to Malham Cove, a cliff formation of limestone rock. On the top is a large area of limestone pavement where scenes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were filmed. We didn't visit Malham Cove this time, we last visited back in 2012, I didn't realise it had been all that long ago, and you can read about it in my Back To The Dales post.

There isn't much in Malham itself but it's a lovely quaint village to wander round.

At the entrance to the village is a carved limestone boulder with a quote from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.

Here you can see the road which leads to Malham Cove. It's about a mile from the village and then there's over four hundred steps to climb. It's a little too much to ask of Archie these days.

The Malham Smithy is the workshop of blacksmith Annabelle Bradley, she's been in residence since 2007. Bill Wild was Blacksmith here from about 1946 until his death in 1985. He bequeathed the Malham Smithy to St Michaels Church and they now lease it out, the rent providing income for the church.

How cute are all these birdboxes hung on the Beck Hall Hotel. I wonder if any of them are occupied.

The Yorkshire Dales are known for their dry stone walls. I love to see them covered in moss like this.

A stream runs through the centre of Malham and there's a woodland walk which runs right by it. It was the perfect place to let Archie off his lead for a breather as the small wood is enclosed by walls and is gated.

It was a hot day and Archie enjoyed being able to cool off in the stream.

These mushrooms were growing on a tree. The photo doesn't show how huge they were.

It was nice to be able to cool off in the shade of the tree canopy. This day out was at the start of the heatwave and it got incredibly hot that day.

After a stroll around the village we decided to drive to Settle, a market town about six and a half miles from Malham. I never tire of seeing all the animals in the fields and by the side of the road. 

It gets a bit much when they block your way though, haha. They don't move out of your way either, we had to manoeuvre our way around these cows but it didn't end there because there was another small herd further along the road. I do love to see animals roaming free though.

Our lunch in Settle consisted of a hot steak and ale pie from Drake & Macefield butchers. If you're ever in the area I can heartily recommend them. It's not the first time we've sampled their wares and it won't be the last. We also purchased some cold pies to bring home with us, they're so good. Afterwards we set off for Hawes, passing the impressive Ribbleshead Viaduct on the way. 

We had a lovely day out and I'm sure it won't be long until we feel the draw of the Dales again.

21 comments:

  1. It’s a few years since I was in Malham, it is a very pleasant walk around the village.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really miss going for walks, we used to love walking. The village smithy brings back memories, we used to have on here in Brighton and the smell hit you well before you got there. Archie looks as though he loved it.
    Briony
    x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Delightful. I remember coming off the hills in Arncliffe one holiday where the fields were full of buttercups, such a beautiful area for a mooch.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Jo. We're missing not being able to come across this year & we've spent some lovely days exploring that area. Glad Archie got too cool off a bit. Take care, stay safe & hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A perfect place to wander around, thank you for sharing it with us, living down south, it's not a place we would get to see.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do love coming along on your day trips !

    ReplyDelete
  7. That looks a lovely day out. Four hundred steps, wow that would be some climb for sure, not one I'd attempt either. Nice that Archie managed a paddle in the stream, just the job on a hot day.

    ReplyDelete
  8. In love the Dales. I haven't been to Malham before but it looks very pretty and a great place to visit. I like the sound of the lunch yum. Hawes is one of my favourite places. Have a lovely weekend. xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sounds like such a great day out. Those birdhouses are so cute as are the cows - I have a feeling that their blocking the road made your day all the more delightful :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. A lovely day out is just what you need every now and again. x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Looks like a lovely day out, there's nothing like the English country side is there? and it's good to get out and remind ourselves how lovely it is. Looks like Archie had a good time cooling off, i would have been tempted to have a paddle in that stream myself, it's been so hot! Thank goodness it's cooled down today, but glad we haven't had the torrential rain that was promised.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such a beautiful place to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Looks like a wonderful day, the pies sound good.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely post and pictures. It's not surprising that you enjoyed yourselves given the scenery and weather. xx

    ReplyDelete
  15. You've captured your lovely day out very well, I think. I've never been to Settle but I have been to Malham and I thought the countryside around it was breathtakingly beautiful. x

    ReplyDelete
  16. Fun images. THe bird houses are the best!

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a lovely day out, I enjoyed seeing all of your photographs.
    The birdboxes look so cute and an amazing view of the Ribbleshead Viaduct.

    Hope you've had a good weekend, enjoy the week ahead.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  18. A wonderful day out and just look at that beautiful scenery. Simply stunning. It's many years since I visited Malham but it's on my wish list for this summer. X

    ReplyDelete
  19. We used to be taken on geography field trips to Malham when I was at school. Cows can do lots of damage to vehicles if they get too close. Archie loves paddling doesn't he?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wonderful photos. It looks like the perfect place to visit! I love the boulder.

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a lovely, interesting day out. So many lovely sights and quaint ones too. I loved the birdhouses and have always had a soft spot for mossy walls. Struth, it's like the New Forest with all those cows in the road.xxx

    ReplyDelete