Malham Cove and the Limestone Pavements
If you've seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, then you've already seen Malham Cove and the Limestone Pavements. The cove is a huge, limestone crag, shaped like an amphitheater, 230 feet high and 985 feet wide. It's just a few hundred yards outside the village of Malham on the Pennine Way. Steps take you to the top where you can carefully walk on the limestone pavement. This is a rare and legally protected habitat formed when rainwater dissolves limestone, exposing its structure of regular, square blocks. There are several limestone pavements in the Pennine Hills that run through the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales National Parks. This is one of the best. The views from the bottom and the top are terrific.
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How to See It
Malham Cove is three quarters of a mile south of the village of Malham, on Cove Road, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. After about a half mile, look for a public footpath marker and a small National Trust sign on the right. The rest of the way is over a gently climbing but wide, flat path of the Pennine Way.