Settle Circular via Malham walk

22.8 km (14.2 mi), with 800m cumulative ascent/descent. For a shorter or longer walk, see below Walk Options.

7 out of 10 with 6 hours walking time.

This is a very rewarding route from the pretty and scenically positioned small market town of Settle, rising steeply out of Ribblesdale straight into one of the best limestone country imaginable and later across the watershed into Malhamdale with its natural wonders. Almost all of those are explored on the various route options. The return is less exciting but still features stunning views of Malham Tarn and Fountains Fell as well as to the Yorkshire Three Peaks and an elevated section through steep pastures high above Ribblesdale, while – in season – you may spot curlews and lapwings.

Across all the route options, you encounter limestone outcrops, crags and pavements, caves, path side springs, shake holes, sink holes and pot holes, water sinks where rivers disappear into an underground cave system, streams re-emerging further down out of other caves, dry valleys which only every few centuries are water-filled, a very steep and dramatic gorge with two waterfalls and an optional ‘wet’ scramble up it – Gordale Scar, as well as the most impressive limestone amphitheatre imaginable – Malham Cove, with its 70m drop and a beck emerging from a cave at its bottom plus a very large area of limestone pavement at its top, as well as one of the largest tarns in the land – Malham Tarn, also one of the very few upland alkaline lakes in Europe.

Malham, where the optional routes split, has four lunch places, sits roughly half-way and can be reached by bus. The paths and tracks are mostly good to walk and easy to follow, but the going can be hard on the feet and knees over time, as a lot of the route follows gravel farm tracks, and other bits cross stony ground.

At the highest point of the walk, a bridleway across to the return route cuts the descent into Malham.
Three bus lines serve Malham on a daily basis between them, two of them are summer only though:
· Bus Line 210/211 (Skipton Railway Station – Malham, The Buck Inn) runs two buses a day each way (Monday-Friday). The second bus of the day leaves Malham early afternoon.
· Bus Line 75 (Skipton Railway Station – Malham, The Buck Inn – Waterhouses, Malham Tarn Car Park – Settle) runs two buses a day each way (summer Saturdays only). The last buses to Settle and back to Skipton are mid-afternoon.
· Bus Line 864 (Bradford) – Skipton Bus Station – Malham, The Buck Inn) runs six buses a day each way an hour apart (summer Sundays only). The last bus out of Malham leaves mid-afternoon.
A Variation in Malham leads past Janet’s Foss (waterfall) to Gordale Scar and its waterfalls, then a ‘wet’ scramble up the gorge and on to the fascinating Water Sinks, where the outflow of Malham Tarn (the future River Aire) disappears into the ground. This adds 4.0 km and 30m ascent.
An Alternative within this route avoids the scramble by going up pastures around the gorge (adds 1.7 km).
The waymarked Dales High Way links the two principal routes out of Malham from the top of Malham Cove.
A Variation of the Gordale Scar Option leads around Malham Tarn. This adds additional 1.1 km (map-led).

OS Landranger Map: 98 (Wensleydale & Upper Wharfedale)
OS Explorer Map: OL2 (Yorkshire Dales – Southern & Western Areas)
Harvey British Mountain Map: Yorkshire Dales
Harvey Superwalker XT25 Map: Yorkshire Dales – South East

Settle Station, map reference SD 817 634, is 319 km northwest of Charing Cross, 101 km southeast of Carlisle, 54 km northwest of Leeds, 156m above sea level and in North Yorkshire. It is a station on the Leeds - Settle – Carlisle Line, with nine trains per day Mon-Sat and six on Sundays. Journey time to Settle is from 89 minutes from Carlisle and from 59 minutes from Leeds.

Saturday Walkers’ Club: The walk is doable as a daywalk from London with an early start and a late return.

The Old Barn Tea Room Malham, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 4DA (01729 830 486). The Old Barn is located 10.2 km/6.3 mi into the walk.
The Buck Inn Malham, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 4DA (01729 830 317). The Buck Inn is located 10.2 km/6.3 mi into the walk.
The Lister Arms Malham, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 4DB (01729 830 444). The Lister Arms is located 10.3 km/6.4 mi into the walk.
Beck Hall Restaurant Malham, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 4DJ (01729 830 729). Beck Hall is located 10.4 km/6.4 mi into the walk. England’s first fully plant-based hotel, bar and restaurant.

Gordale Refreshments Gordale Lane, Malham, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 4DL (07737 237 918). The van is located at Gordale Bridge on the Gordale Scar Variant.

Plenty of options, all within a few minutes walking to the train station: Bailey’s Bar & Grill, The Shambles Fish Bar, Ye Olde Naked Man Café & Bakery, Matteo’s Settle Italian Restaurant, the Talbot Arms, The Folly Coffee House, The Fisherman restaurant, Royal Oak Hotel and pub, The Singing Kettle Café & Bistro, The Golden Lion hotel and pub, Ruchee Indian & Bangladeshi restaurant, Bar 13 wine bar.

Northern Glossary

beck: stream, brook; brig(g): bridge; -by: habitation; cam: bank, slope, ridge; carr: marshy woodland or shrubland; clough: narrow valley, cleft in a hillside, ravine, glen, gorge, cliff, rocky precipice; crag: steep rugged mass of rock projecting upward or outward; currick: cairn, pile of stones, often locations used to keep watch for Scottish raiders; dale: valley; -ey: island, dry area in a marshy place; fell: hill, mountain slope (especially rough moorland); firth/frith: long, narrow inlet of the sea or estuary; force/foss: waterfall, rapids; frith: area of peace, protection, safety, security; garth: small grass enclosure adjacent to a house; gate: way, street; gill/ghyll: small narrow valley or ravine; hagg: part of an area of woodland, especially on a sloping bank; holm(e): island, inland promontory, raised ground in marsh, river-meadow; how(e): barrow, small hill; hush: (Roman era) mine on steep hillside, using dammed up water to wash away topsoil and boulders, revealing the underlying lead or ore veins; ing(s): meadow(s), especially water meadow near a river; keld/kell: spring or well; kirk: church; laithe/leeath: barn, agricultural building; lang: long; ling: heather; lonning/lonnin’: lane or track, something less than a road, more rural than a street, usually short; mell: sand dunes; mire: bog; moss: bog, marsh; ness: headland, promontory; nick: shallow notch, cut or indentation on an edge or a surface; pike: spike, sharp point, peak; rake: slant, incline; rigg: ridge; scar/scaur: cliff, rocky outcrop with a steep face; seat/set(t)/side: summer pasture or dwelling place; seaves: rushes; shaw: hurdle, gate; sike/syke/sitch: small stream or gulley, gutter; stang: pole, shaft, stake, wooden bar; stoop/stowp/stoup: post, gatepost, distance marker (milestone), standing stone; -sty: ascent, ascending lane or path, narrow pathway or course; tarn: lake or pond (especially in an upland location); thorp(e)/t(h)rop: village or small settlement; thwait(e): village or small settlement; toft(s): small farmstead with enclosed land, later applied to a village or small settlement; wath: ford; whinny: gorse, furze, thorny vegetation; -wich/wick: village or settlement.

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National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Aug-24 Thomas G