Our drawing of the route, over road and path data from OpenStreetMap. It shows where the walk goes and what it goes through. It is not a survey and not a navigation aid — carry OS Explorer on the hill.
Five and a half miles and about three hours on the quiet side of Malham, climbing the walled Long Lane onto Pikedaw Hill for the calamine mine ruins and the medieval boundary stone at Nappa Cross, with a squelchy stretch of moor between the two after rain. It starts from the National Park Centre car park in Malham, which is far and away the best place to leave a car in the dale and has the only public toilets for miles. Sheep are on the hill all year and there is no fence between path and flock, so keep the dog on the lead; the compensation for a dog owner is that this route uses gates and stone stepped stiles rather than the squeeze stiles that make the Cove path such a struggle with a big dog, though there is no water at all once you leave the village.
Riverside hotel and bistro reached by its own little stone footbridge, and one of the most dog-friendly stays in the country: every room, the dining areas and the log-fire snug all welcome dogs, who stay free. Biscuits, water and dog mats are provided, and Malham Cove is a stroll from the garden. Also notable as England's first fully plant-based hotel.
The classic Dales circuit: roughly five miles from Malham village via the wooded ravine to Janet's Foss waterfall, into the towering gorge of Gordale Scar, then over limestone pasture to the 80-metre curved cliff of Malham Cove. Dogs may go off lead in places but sheep graze almost the whole route, so close control or a lead is essential, and there are rocky steps and clints on the cove top. Start from the National Park car park; the village pubs welcome muddy paws afterwards.
A four-and-a-half-mile circuit of England's highest marl lake, two hours on estate tracks, a stretch of quiet moorland road and grass paths, with almost no climbing at 375 metres above the sea. Park at the National Trust car park at Water Sinks on the Malham to Arncliffe road; Malham village and its toilets and tea rooms are three miles south. The Trust asks for dogs on leads and bars them entirely from the boardwalk through the National Nature Reserve at the east end, so plan to walk the road section instead; sheep and cattle graze the upland farm land, and the tarn shore gives easy shallow access for a drink.
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