MALHAM COVE

MALHAM, SKIPTON

The harder of the two routes heading north from Malham, Cove Road is a beautiful climb up to Ewe Moor. Exit the village at the triangle of roads opposite The Buck Inn, following the signs towards Arncliffe. Climbing gently you reach a 1-in-7 warning sign and it’s here that the roads rears up, its snaking narrow path lined with high stone walls. With Malham Cove on your right – a towering 80-metre-high wall of limestone – the road briefly eases before ramping up again. Bending right, then left, then sharp right again, a 1-in-5 corner leads into a twisting stretch of 1-in-6. The smooth road snakes up and up, the only imperfections coming on the tight corners where cars searching for traction have damaged the road’s surface. Once through the final corners you pass over a cattle grid and can either roll along the flat moor or turn around to try the alternate route, which, though steeper in places, doesn’t offer as tough a challenge.