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Weets Top above Malhamdale.

Start. Malham.

Route. Malham - Malham Smithy - Pennine Way - Mires Barn - New Laithe - Janet's Foss Wood - Janet's Foss - Gordale Lane - Gordale Scar - Hawthorns Lane - Weets Top - The Weets - Henlith Moor - Windy Pike Lane - Henlith - Pennine Way - Aire Head - Malham.

Notes. Welcome to the quiet side of Malham, on a day when the honey pots of Malham Cove and Gordale Scar will be crammed with day trippers we headed for the quiet, the not so popular, the peaceful highs to the east, we headed for The Weets. At a mere 1538ft above sea level it’s not a giant, what it is is a lonely swathe of wet moorland, the summit Weets Top is a superb vantage point perched impressively overlooking Malhamdale and Gordale. So all you need for a pleasant comfortable day out is a good pair of waterproof boots, unlike mine.

We left Malham via the main tourist trod to Janet’s Foss, accessed by a small clapper bridge located behind Malham Smithy. With a good path to guide us we passed a number of stone barns before entering cool woodland, with the alluring sound of falling water reverberating through the trees we continued soon arriving at Janet’s Foss, a small waterfall plunging into a deep pool. Folk law tells us the small cave behind the fall is home to Janet Queen of the Fairies.

The path continued exiting the woodland onto a narrow tarmac lane, this we followed over Gordale Bridge to the entrance to Gordale Scar. As impressive as it is the scar was supposed to be off route today, with the crowds somewhere behind us not having reached this part of the dale yet, we decided to grace it with our presence, a good move we had it to ourselves. With towering cliffs, overhanging walls of limestone dripping with water, sound echoing around the caverns walls from the cataracts that plunge in from the cavern head, the cool wind that always blows through the narrow gap gave it an eerie atmosphere. After we’d had our fill we re-traced our steps to the tarmac lane.

The lane then guided us uphill between dry stone walls, depositing us at a finger-post promising passage to Weets Top. Our ascent continued still between dry stone walls but a rough track now under foot, at the top of the climb a medieval cross welcomed us, well weathered this was once a monastic wayside cross, route marker and boundary stone. A gate next to said cross allowed access to Weets Top, a trig point marked the summit.

The summit of this little visited top is probably one of the best view points in the Yorkshire Dales, with most of the features in the Southern Dales on show, the panorama west includes Ingleborough (just visible through a gap) and Fountains Fell, to the north the rolling terrain above Gordale and Bordley carry the eye to Mallham Moor with Great Whernside dominating the skyline, not to forget the ghostly outline of Pendle Hill rising from the Lancashire plane, famous for it's links to the now notorious witch trials of 1612, but that's another story for another day.

We hung around a while soaking it all in, when we moved it was south over The Weets before turning right onto a path that descended over Henlith Moor. This path deteriorated instantly, soon becoming a bog fest. White topped marker posts kept us on track, after a great deal of bog hopping we arrived at a walled lane. Free of the wet stuff we continued descending, at least now we could take our eyes off the toe of the boot to enjoy stunning views from this stoney lane. On the outskirts of Henlith the lane became tarmac, on a sharp S-bend we joined the Pennine Way a long distant footpath running 268 miles up the spine of England.

We walked but a tiny slice, through fields above the River Aire, passed the confluence of the River Aire and Malham Beck and on into Malham, re-crossing the tiny clapper bridge to access the village streets, then all we had to do was find somewhere for lunch.

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