Return to Whittle Wanderer

Malham, Goredale Scar, Streets, Yorkshire.. [15 km] Wed 09th Jan 2008
 

I’d just left the A65 on the dark approach to Settle when I came to a ‘Road Closed Ahead’ sign. I despair at the lack of though people give when they put these signs up. How far ahead can I get before the closure? The question that every motorist will think as he sees the sign. Obviously the sign planners didn’t think this one through. It turned out not to be too far before the barriers so not much time was lost. Passing through Langcliffe I took the steep climb up towards Malham Tarn until I came to the main car park. It was dark, windswept, cold and hailing when I arrived. It was one of those mornings where there was no rush to get going as it far too dark. After a couple of cups of tea I set off. There was just enough light to see the windswept moor covered in patches of snow and hail. I was heading in the general direction of Malham Village so decided to stay on the road as it would only be slightly longer and a whole lot quicker.
Descending towards Goredale Scar
Just after I started the steep road descent to the village I saw a ‘Gordale Scar’ sign pointing to a path crossing the fields. I decided to follow it and soon came to a substantial barn. I paused to take in the views across and area called ‘the Weets’. The path continued slightly downhill then through a wall it made a steeper descent to Goredale Lane and the bridge over Goredale Beck. This is the main access to Goredale and it has a nice notice which opens with the following quotation:
" ...every object conspires to produce one of the grandest spectacles in nature. The rocks dart their bold and rugged fronts to the heavens, and impending fearfully over the head of the spectator, seem to threaten his immediate destruction." Edward Dayes 1805
There is also a copy of a painting of the Scar by James Ward (1769-1859) and a further note which reads:
Even today, Gordale Scar can seem a pretty awesome place with its overhanging rocks and crashing waterfall. In the past visitors could only guess at how the gorge was formed. Today we know that over the last one and a half million years, Malham has been covered by at least three great sheets of ice. Each time these glaciers melted, huge torrents of water poured off the plateau above Gordale scouring away the rock. Ice and rain further eroded the limestone, producing the extraordinary chasm that we see today.
The water that pours out of the scar is full of lime and this is deposited on the rocks as brown spongy tufa. Please take care not to damage this tufa when you visit the site.


On the climb of Goredale Scar.

Through the gate there is a nice path continuing to the Scar. The area is also a campsite but there were no tents today. At first the Scar doesn’t look particularly impressive until you round the corner and see the waterfalls ahead. Looking upwards it’s hard to imagine that people are able to climb up the overhanging walls. The path ahead vanishes and the way on is up an easy rock climb between the middle of the split waterfall. The problem was the wind.

There was a funnel effect and the water was being blown horizontally across the rocks at high velocity. I had to make sure my camera bag was secure in a plastic bag before making the short ascent. Over the top it was a short hop across the water to dry ground and a very nice stepped path running steeply upwards. Half way up is a large rock placed very conveniently by the cliff which made a nice seat. It was too good to pass by so I stopped for a brief cup of coffee. At the top I didn’t follow the main path but turned to the left to follow a minor route along the edge of New Close Knotts.
After the waterfall a nice flight of steps takes over.


The view above Goredale Scar

This gave very nice views down into Gordale Scar. The faint path soon vanished so I continued round until I came back to the road. Crossing over I set off across the open fell again as the weather deteriorated. I was walking straight into a fierce wind and when the hailstones started it became rather painful. I battled on until I reached a ravine where I could see a path in the bottom with a bit of a vertical drop to get tot it. I made a detour to the north to find a suitable descent, crossed the path and climbed the other side of the ravine to continue to the next road. Crossing over I followed the main track and path towards Settle. There was still a covering of snow and the fierce wind battered me with hail again. It was very uncomfortable so I battled on and took a branch path near Haw until I joined another more substantial path heading east. The wind was now behind me so I carried on to Streets and joined the road. I stayed with the road and returned to the car where just after getting inside another fierce blast of hail hit and plastered the whole side of the car. I was snug inside drinking tea so didn’t mind.