Malham - again

The best laid plans... I had decided to go Stainforth to visit the waterfalls near there but just outside Gargrave there was a sign, helpfully informing that the main A65 was closed at Long Preston, with a diversion in place. I didn't fancy sitting in a traffic jam so, although such signs often turn out to be about mythical closures, I diverted instead to Malham, an equally enjoyable destination. It was - for Malham - distinctly unbusy and the weather was chilly but fair. Despite having been there relatively recently, I had a most pleasant walk up the stream to Gordale Scar. 

I often end up photographing the same scenes (though I suppose they are never quite 'the same' every time). There's a pretty little waterfall in the stream that always catches my eye. I think it's something about its curve as well as the water frothing over. My photo hasn't really captured how clear the water is around here, filtered down through the limestone rock. 

A little further on, you come to a pretty, stone barn - which I didn't photograph in its entirety this time but which I have often snapped on previous visits (see below, last autumn). 

I stopped to admire a really old doorway into the barn; 1755 by its date stone, which I've never really noticed before. I just loved the weathered stone and wood. 

Just outside there are a couple of old agricultural implements, abandoned to rust. I couldn't even tell what this one was, it was so overgrown with grass. It pleases me to think of the history round here, farmers and agricultural labourers ekeing out a living on the sparse grasslands, keeping a few sheep, maybe a cow or two and cutting hay for the cattle and horses. Many of my ancestors were 'ag labs' in Lincolnshire in the 18th and early 19th centuries so, for me, there's a visceral link with the countryside. It's 'in my blood', I guess.  

Beyond the barn, the track enters a narrow wooded gorge, which ends at the waterfall known as Janet's Foss. Here, again, there were quite a few fallen trees, no doubt casualties of the dry summer in 2022. Their roots don't go deep in this rocky terrain and if the soil is too dry they are prone to topple.