WALK IN A LAND CARVED BY TIME
A path along the waterside at Malham Tarn to the rugged crags of the Yorkshire Dales reveals a wealth of geological gems
“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful”
Charles Kingsley
AN AZURE, CLOUDLESS, summer sky is reflected in the deep water of Malham Tarn, which sparkles in the sunlight. It is surrounded by desolate moorland and rocky limestone outcrops, the landscape formed by the forces of nature over millennia. Dragonflies dart through the still, warm air, and the distinctive whistling calls of curlews can be heard as they fly overhead.
Malham Tarn lies in the south-west of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, approximately 5 miles from the market town of Settle. Situated at 1,240ft (378m) above sea level, it is England’s highest marl, or lime-rich lake. It nestles within a wider estate now owned and managed by the National Trust, which works with other environmental organisations, such as the Field Studies Council and Natural England, to conserve the rare habitats that are found here.
One of the largest areas of limestone in Britain is found in the National Park and, because of the porous nature of the rock, most water drains underground. However, the natural hollow in which Malham Tarn sits has a layer of boulder clay on top of impervious Silurian slate, so rather than seeping away, the water collects to create this serenely beautiful spot.
The tarn is approximately 14ft (4.4m) at its deepest point, with an average depth of 8ft (2.4m), and it covers an area of more than 150 acres. It is particularly unusual because this calcium-rich lake is situated next to an acid peat bog, known as Tarn Moss, and a rare fen habitat: one of only a few in Britain that is fed by lime-rich groundwater. With the tarn, these make up a unique mosaic of wetland habitats of world importance, which have been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Ramsar Convention on Wetlands location.
This 4½-mile walk begins at the Watersinks car park, from which a path, a section of the Pennine Way, leads past the stony shore of the tarn, with views across to the grand Tarn House. The well-worn, grassy path continues past a copse of trees on the left, known as Ha Mire Plantation, to a track in front of the impressive limestone cliffs of the looming Great Close Scar: a popular rock-climbing spot.
The limestone was formed 340 million years ago, when this area was submerged under tropical seas close to the equator. Over time, the build-up of calcium-rich skeletons and the shells of billions of sea creatures were compressed to form this distinctive grey-white rock. The last ice age, meltwater, rain and geological faults have all shaped the landscape, forming deep valleys, exposing the underlying geology and leaving behind areas of hard millstone, which form craggy hilltops.
The track skirts the edge of the tarn, where one of two boathouses that would have been used for trout fishing can be seen; the other is hidden among trees on
the other side of the house. There are also several trees either side of the track, each with the lower part of their trunks surrounded by a circular drystone wall. Trees are few and far between in this upland landscape, where the harsh climate makes for tough growing conditions, and grazing cattle, sheep and deer nibble at young shoots before the plants have a chance to get established. For trees to thrive to maturity, they need some protection, either in plantations enclosed by drystone walls or individually with their own stone barriers.
Tarn House
From here, a gate opens into the grounds of Tarn House, where there is an area of woodland planted in the 18th and 19th centuries. A mix of birch, beech, sycamore and ash, among others, it provides the perfect home for a host of birds, including nuthatches and woodpeckers.
The imposing Georgian house was built circa 1780 for Thomas Lister,
1752-1826, who became Lord Ribblesdale and the MP for Clitheroe in Lancashire. His main family residence was Gisburne Hall, near Clitheroe, but Tarn House was a place for him, his family and his guests to spend the summer and autumn sailing, hunting and fishing.
In 1852, the Malham Estate, including the house, was purchased by James Morrison, and in 1857, his son Walter, a millionaire and Liberal politician, inherited the property. Walter made Tarn House his main residence, extending it by adding the East Wing, an Italian belvedere-style tower and a wrought iron and glass veranda on the front elevation of the house. After Walter’s death in 1921, the estate passed to relatives, who gifted it to the National Trust in 1946.
Walter invited many eminent Victorian thinkers, such as Charles Darwin, John Stuart Mill and John Ruskin to stay. Another visitor was Charles Kingsley, who used the house and surrounding countryside as inspiration for his children’s book The Water Babies, published in 1863. Kingsley was appalled at the living and working conditions of the poorest members of society in Victorian Britain and wrote The Water Babies to highlight the plight of child labour. The main character, Tom, a child chimney sweep, seeks solace from the horrors of his life in a watery world.
Home to rare wildlife
The route continues along the main drive, with its impressive, steep, rocky sides more than 11ft (3.5m) high and verdantly clad in mosses and ferns, with the occasional splash of colour from orange and yellow Welsh poppies, Meconopsis cambrica. The drive then opens out, with more woodland either side, and a path to the left heads to the tarn, where a bird hide provides views over the water and the opportunity to spot Great Crested grebe, Tufted ducks, pochard, wigeon and teal. The endangered White-clawed crayfish, Austropotamobius pallipes, also lives in the tarn, alongside trout; perch; Three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus; and pea mussels; as does a rare flightless caddis fly, Agrypnia crassicornis, which is found in only a
“This is the place of my song-dream, the place the music played to me,” whispered the Rat, as if in a trance. “Here, in this holy place”
Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
handful of other places, including Finland and Mongolia.
Rejoining the main route, a narrow path before a cottage on the left leads to the raised boardwalk through the National Nature Reserve of Tarn Moss: an ancient peat bog 15ft (4.5m) deep and estimated to be 12,000 years old. Here, the National Trust is employing a technique known as conservation grazing, using Exmoor ponies to control vigorous plant species, such as reeds and willow, which allows smaller plants, including orchids, to thrive.
On a summer’s day, the moss is brimming with plant life, including gleaming yellow globeflowers, Trollius europaeus; the dainty, nodding heads of water avens, Geum rivale; the shaggy, pink flowers of ragged robin, Lychnis flos-cuculi; and the exotic-looking northern marsh orchid, Dactylorhiza purpurella.
Water voles, Arvicola amphibius, one of Britain’s most threatened species, were introduced to the water channels of Tarn Moss in 2016 by the National Trust, with 100 released initially and a similar number the following year. They have spread out from their initial release sites, and by making their network of burrows in the sides of streams, they are slowly changing the environment, creating more naturally-shaped channels with shady pools that provide habitats for invertebrates and fish. It is worth listening out for the distinctive ‘plop’ sound as the voles enter the water; it is even possible to hear them munching on vegetation. Rather confusingly, they are sometimes also referred to as water rats, and, in fact, the character of Ratty, in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, was a water vole. They differ from the more common brown rat in a number of ways: water voles have a more rounded face, with a blunt nose, and their tails, ears and paws are covered with fur, unlike those of the rat, which are pink. The water vole is also darker in colour. Unlike a rat, a water vole will dive into the water if alarmed, hence that unmistakable ‘plop’.
Sweeping views
The boardwalk meets a lane before hitting a quiet road, with the left-hand fork heading towards High Trenhouse: once a traditional sheep farm, with farmhouse and outbuildings, and now a residential management centre. Shortly after this, at the crossroads, a footpath sign points over a stile across a field towards a stone tower; a smelt mill chimney, where there are
impressive views over the landscape. From here, the path heads uphill towards the corner of the field, above a barn, and follows the wall to a stile. On the other side, the track descends to a gate in a drystone wall, where it continues across Dean Moor, offering sweeping views over the tarn, moss and limestone scars.
The track meets the road and returns to the car park at Water Sinks, where the water from the tarn disappears underground, hence the name. It was believed that the water from the tarn then reappeared as Malham Beck at the bottom of Malham Cove, as this was the most logical route for the water to take, following the dry valley from Water Sinks to Malham Cove. However, by adding a dye, it was shown that the water from the tarn reappears at Aire Head Springs, south of Malham village, where it forms the source of the River Aire, which runs through Leeds on its way to the North Sea. It is not known what route the tarn water takes below ground, but underneath the fields, footpaths and roads of this limestone landscape is a subterranean network of tunnels and caves carved out by underground streams and rivers.
This is breathtaking countryside, which is home to some of Britain’s rarest habitats and wildlife, awe-inspiring geology and a hidden industrial past, and where the visitor can feel their mind stilled by the tranquillity of the tarn.
CONTACT
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/malham-tarn-estate/ features/walking-around-malham-tarn
Please note that in light of the current situation, restrictions should be observed, so please check before travelling.