Malham Tarn Archaeology Walk

This is a circular 8.8 km / 5.5 mile loop, and that number is the full round trip, not one leg. Allow 3 to 4 hours. You start and finish at the informal roadside parking at Street Gate, grid reference SD905656.

You set off along Mastiles Lane, an old cross country route, to reach a Roman marching camp, then take the footpath across its northeast corner and head for Middle House Farm. From there the old Monks' Road drops you toward Malham Tarn. You turn left near the shore, then pick up a grass track that climbs away from the water beneath Great Close Hill, passes Great Close Plantation, and brings you back to Street Gate. You touch the tarn rather than circle it, so treat the water as one high point of the walk and not the whole of it.

Graded moderate, and the grading is about surfaces rather than distance. Expect mostly fields and unmade tracks, some gravel track and a little road, uneven footing in places, and one short steep incline. It can be muddy after wet weather, especially on the field sections and around gates. Proper boots with ankle support make the difference here.

The route stays high, roughly between 364 and 446 m, with the loop starting and ending near 385 m. It is rolling open upland rather than a steady climb, but there is very little cover once you leave the walled lanes. Take windproof layers and enough water, and keep an eye on the map at path junctions where the line across grass is faint.

The interest here is layered rather than obvious. Mesolithic to Bronze Age camps and stone tools have been found around the tarn, and the Roman camp reads as ground shape and low banks rather than standing ruins, so it rewards slow looking. Around it you get ancient limestone pastures, dry stone walls, limestone scars and outcrops, historic droving and packhorse roads, and wide moorland views. Malham Tarn itself is unusual, a body of open water in limestone country and a National Nature Reserve.

Parking is roadside and informal at Street Gate, so park considerately and keep the lane clear. There are no toilets or cafe at the start; the nearest facilities are in Malham village, about 2 miles south. Dogs are welcome on a lead and under close control, as this is a working farmed landscape with livestock throughout. Seasonal local restrictions may apply between March and July for lambing and ground nesting birds, so read signs at gates and stick to the line of the path.

Near Middle House Farm you can add a short detour to the derelict 16th century Old Middle House, a ruined upland farmstead that fits the theme of the walk well. It is not part of the main loop, so add a little time and expect rougher ground if you take it.