Appleyard Cottage to Malham Walk
Malham https://www.malhamdale.com/ is one of the most famous villages in the Yorkshire Dales. On Saturday we walked from Appleyard Cottage to Malham. Its a a 7 mile walk through some amazing scenery. From Appleyard Cottage https://www.theappleyardcottage.co.uk- you simply cross the main road, turn right and then take a left into Haw Grave. This line leads you across the railway line and then straight into the Dales.
You should always take a map (or use Ordnance Survey | See A Better Place) when you walk in the Dales, but this route is an easy one to attempt as the paths are clearly marked. We followed Haw Grove to the end, then carried on across the field at the top to the tree line. You then turn right along a large path and follow it all the way down into Otterburn village.
There is so much to see on this walk - at the top of Haw Grove, turn back to view Hellifield from the hills. Time it right and you might get to see a famous steam train chugging along the Settle to Carlisle railway line. There are also fields full of sheep and lambs to enjoy, lots of birds including many birds of prey swooping down to catch their lunch. The gorgeous and almost cartoon like Highland Cows also graze the hills.
Once in Otterburn, you turn left into the village and then turn left at the footpath sign which takes you along a small river and up into the hills. This is a beautiful stretch which gives you the most beautiful views across the dales and your first view of Malham Cove and Goredale Scar in the distance. This path finally leads you down into Malham Kirby. If you need a rest��https://www.victoriakirkbymalham.co.uk/ there is a lovely pub where you can stop.
We then headed through the village, across the little bridge and turned right at the footpath sign for Malham. Its quite an easy walk from here (always a few hills to navigate) as you head into Malham itself. Then its time for a well earned lunch. We chose the gorgeous BeckHall https://www.beckhallmalham.com/ for its Yorkshire Tapas and gorgeous garden by a stream. There are lots of other pubs to choose from in Malham, tea shops and ice cream / coffee booths.
Once you are in Malham you have three choices about how you get back home. There is a bus which only runs twice a day in each direction so you need to check your timings carefully. Or you can order a taxi (not sure how much that would cost - probably £25+).
Alternatively you can do what we did. Grab and ice cream and enjoy the sunshine and walk back home. We walked back along the roads - not sure if its a shorter route but it feels a bit quicker for some reason
