Janet's Foss, Weets Top, Calton Moor and River Aire

Start : Yorkshire Dales National Park Visitor Centre car park at the southern edge of Malham village. (BD23 4DA) Grid ref. SD 899 627.

(S/E) From the parking, walk through the car park to the road (Chapel Gate), turn left (North) and walk into the village until opposite the Blacksmiths. Cross over the road, walk behind the 'smithy'.

(1) Cross the beck using a footbridge. Turn right (South) and follow the good path to Janet's Foss. You will arrive at a gate with a barn on your left.

(2) Go through the gate and turn left (East) to pass the barn. Keep following the good footpath with gates to pass through until you enter some woodland. Go through the gate into the wood and continue along the path for 1.5 Km to Janet's Foss (B). This is a popular bathing spot.

(3) Now continue along the path up to the road (Gordale Lane). Turn right onto the road and walk (North-East then East) in single file to pass Gordale Bridge (refreshment van in the summer months) and the entrance to the campsite at Gordale. Keep following the road uphill (Hawthorns Lane) until the steep section starts to ease and there is a track on the right with a finger post.

(4) Turn right (South-East) and follow the stony track up as it bears South to the stump of a cross at Weets Gate. Go through a gate and turn left to walk 20 metres to the trig point and summit of Weets Top.

(5) From Weets Top walk back to the gate and finger post where two tracks split. Take the right-hand track signposted Calton. This descends gently (watch out of cyclists as this is a popular track for them) with a wall on the right until a point where the track and wall veer away from each other. You will be descending to Calton; look out for a valley on the left with trees in it, your grassy path keeps to the right of the trees. It then becomes a stony farm track as it descends (with a dog leg) and passes through a gate into the trees. Soon after, this the track joins the tarmac road in Calton Village.

(6) Walk through the village ignoring the road on the left. Stay in single file as you descend the road to a sharp bend right and then a steeper gradient down to the bridge at Airton (C). (If you have time you can cross the bridge and explore the quiet and delightful village)

(7) At the bridge turn right (North) onto a path (Pennine Way) which is on the East side of the river. Follow the path (gates) until you arrive at a stone step stile leading up to another bridge below Hanlith Hall.

(8) Climb the steps, turn left and cross the bridge and take the road on the right to Scalegill Mill. The tarmac track is quiet as it leads to the mill which has been converted into apartments. At the mill go through a gate on the left and take a path to the left of the buildings.

Continue following the path with the old mill leat on the right. At one point the path crosses and re-crosses the leat; it also passes through gates. Once you have left the leat behind, look out for a spring on the right, next to a gate that you pass through. (A)

(9) Continue along the path into a field, walk through this and cross a small footbridge into the next field which is used as an overflow car park, pass through into the next field and after this go through a gate onto the road at the start of the village.

(10) Turn left, cross over and walk back past the visitor centre to the parking. (S/E)
(or explore Malham village, plenty of places for refreshments)

Start : Yorkshire Dales National Park Visitor Centre car park at the southern edge of Malham village. (BD23 4DA) Grid ref. SD 899 627.

Parking : There is parking at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Visitor Centre at the southern edge of the village. (BD23 4DA) Grid ref. SD 899 627.
The carpark fills quickly and costs £5.50 to park for over 2 hours (June 23, 2023). There is also free parking on the edge of the road that leads to the village but please remember to park sensibly and do not block any farm gates or cause an obstruction. In addition, on busy days a paid, overflow carpark is opened in a field on the right as you approach the village.

Facilities : Few places to shelter on this walk other than behind the dry stone walls. Weets Top is a popular place to eat a snack but there are plenty of places beside the river where you can do that too.

Terrain : The paths to Janet's Foss are good but the track to Weets Gate is stony and the descent of Calton Moor can be muddy in places after rain, as can some of the riverside paths.
Take a rainproof coat as the weather can change quickly.

Refreshments : There are plenty of places for refreshments in Malham village including ice cream and pubs. The Lister Arms is particularly good but the Buck Inn and Beck Hall Hotel are also popular.

Alternative : Variations on this walk can be made as follows
From waypoint (6) Start walking through the village of Calton and look out for a lane on the right after the first few houses. This leads to a path that cuts across the pastures and down to join the Pennine Way on the east side of the river. (taking this variation will keep you off the road from Calton to Airton and will cut the corner off)
and/or
From waypoint (8) Climb the steps, turn right and walk up past Hanlith Hall. The road turns to the left and as it bends back right there is a path on the left (Pennine Way) which passes two houses before continuing through pasture to join the route at the gate next to the barn at waypoint (2)

(A) (In summer the spring will be dry and you will just see a rough circle of stones amongst the vegetation) This is Aire Head and it is the point where the water from Malham Tarn resurfaces to join Malham Beck and Gordale Beck to form the river Aire.

(B) Janet's Foss is a local visitor attraction and a popular place to bathe on hot days.
If you have time you could take a detour into Gordale, which is quite spectacular.

(C) The villages of Calton and Airton are quiet with some lovely houses if you have time to explore,