31st August 2012 Ling Gill Bridge to Malham Cove

It had been a cold night and waking in the morning was still cold. The tent was covered in frost and the usual condensation was droplets of ice on the flysheet inner.I watched the shadow from the bank being reduced slowly by the rising sun. It did not reduce quickly enough and the tent ended up being packed up damp.
It was about 5 .5 miles to Horton on fairly good path and track.We met afew groups of walkers who were amazed at the size of packs one of them saying were we carrying a tent? It seems fairly rare finding backpackers on the trails people seem to do it mainly with day pack and get B & B. The next group were ladies looking for the stepping stones.I didn't have a clue so pointed out where we were. I I gazed at the map looking for their destination but could not see it. The next person was doing the Ribble Way and gave us a lecture on how the passed route had been so bad she had had to walk on the stone wall to get by. She kept refuring to herself as WE which was alittle disconcerting as she was alone. Maybe her compass was named Wilson like in the film castaway.
We finally got into Horton with its ever prominant quarry. We made our way to the Pen y ghent cafe and a rather miserable woman served us tea in a mega mug. We halved a flapjack. We readied ourselves mentally to take the hill then walked on reasonable track as the incline steadily increased. We gathered water on route so we could have a cuppa on top. When we finally gained the top of Pen y ghent the wall in the lee of the wind was sheltering twenty folk.We were both pleased to sit down as it had been a couple of hours walk. With water on we had coffee but the sugar was contaminated with foot odour spray flavour which spoilt the moment . We dumped the sugar later!
The descent was a steep one over shale and now rocky step which were slippery. The sun had left us for cloud and we became alittle chilled. It was a not long before we were climbing again up onto Fountain Fell.  I felt exhausted and J and I stopped for a few mins for water.when we got to the top there was signs of coal mining and a cairn. We tried to book peer down what looked like a mine shaft and I asked J to back away as he neaered the edge to close for my liking.
It was an easy going gentle downhill via peat moorland then farm land to Water Houses a cluster of National Trust buildings and fieldstudy centre. It felt very elitist. It had started to rain a fair bit so we stopped in a bird hide to brew a tea looking out on the Malham Tarn.
Half hour later we skirted its deepest edge and observed the out flow of water from the Tarn just disappear below ground probably into some heavy limetone cavern and return to the surface at Malham Cove.
The walk to the cove was dampin foot and air but interesting with a gorge type approach.  J had a school trip here and gave me a guided tour of its clinks and grikes limestone pavement. GREAT STUFF!
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We had a fantastic view of Malham but the did not want to walk into it until tomorrow. There were campsites there but £10 seems alot of money just to pitch the tent to sleep.
We descended the rock stairway to the impressive cove view. Dumping our packs to explore the place.  I walked to where water exited the base of the cove and drank like a dog its limestone filtered cold fresh water.
We felt abit exposed with the tent so tucked ourselves away. I was paranoid we would get moved on but as the evening dimmed relaxed.It wluld be a great place to wake up to.

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