N 54° 0 A . B C D , W 00 E ° 0 F . G H I
Your task is to complete the co-ordinates for the geocache by taking a stroll round the village looking for clues and then find the cache. The whole route is a short walk of just under 2 miles.
There is a regular bus service to Malham and a large National Park car park (charge).
A: Take the footpath signposted from the entrance to the main car park and very shortly after turn right on a track signposted to Pikedaw. Follow this until you come to a cobbled section, just before you get to some houses, where a narrow lane drops away to your right.
The dovecote on the two-storied porch of Hill Top Farm ahead of you is a particularly interesting one. The porch has a datestone for 1617 which means the house is the oldest in the village. These dovecotes are not a common sight but you can see more than this one as you begin to turn down to the right. How many can you see? The total will give you A.
B: Now follow the narrow lane down to your right and cross the road to walk in front of Cromwell Cottage and on to the lovely old clapper bridge leading past Beck Hall. Malham is quite unique in having three of these within the village and another one near the Cove. Upstream you will be able to see a second one beyond Beck Hall.
How many supports are there under the bridge? Add 2 to get B.
C: Take the footpath up the hill to join a track. Turn left and walk past the buildings to find a delightful narrow green lane leading off to your right. Follow this lane to the end and the Old School.
Opened in 1717 this was a Free School and to the annoyance of Malham residents was closed in 1874, when the present school on the road to Kirkby Malham was built, and school fees of 9 old pence per week had to be paid. The old school became the village reading room as well as a branch of the Yorkshire Penny Bank. However sixty years later it was recorded as being in a ruinous condition. As you can see it has now been restored and is a private residence.
Add 3 to the number of arched windows in Old School House to arrive at C.
D: Beyond the school you will see the first of Malham’s two village pinfolds. Turn right down the road to the T junction and follow the lane leading into the village until you get to Malham Youth Hostel. Here you will see a second village pinfold that was fully restored in 2004. Take a few moments to examine it and read the information board.
Look very carefully at the drawing to see how many sheep (not including lambs) are in the pinfold? Use the total for D.
E: Now walk past the Lister Arms and take the flagged path to your right and cross the beck via the stone footbridge. When you arrive at the road turn right and find the entrance to Dale House.
Note the number of fully grown sheep you can see on the gates to give you E.
F: Walk back down the road to the village, passing a row of stone cottages called New Row, the end one of which used to be part of Malham Hall – hence its fine 16th century stone mullioned windows.
Find the signpost with Malham’s grid reference on it. The first digit will give you F.
G: Further down the road you will see the Old Smithy that is still in use. Nearby is the third ancient clapper bridge over Malham Beck. This is a charming bridge with modern iron railings made at the village smithy. The little mouse and kingfisher decorating the railings were based on drawings done by children from the local school.
How many stone piers (supports) are there under this bridge? Multiply this number by 2 to give you G.
H: Cross the bridge to follow the path downstream and go through the gate.
In this vicinity what telephone number would you have to call in an emergency? Take the last digit for H.
I: Retrace your steps back to the road and find the Wesleyan Chapel.
The 3rd digit of the date will give you the final figure for the co-ordinates I.
When you have found all of the above you have the full set of co-ordinates. You might like to sit for a while in the Picnic Area behind the National Park Centre to enter these into your GPS and consult the map before you take a short walk to find the cache. For peace of mind the sum of the co-ordinates that you have found should total 49.