The Village of Malham

Malham

Malham is a village in Craven, North Yorkshire, England, in the Yorkshire Dales with a population of 120. The surrounding countryside is well known for its limestone pavements and other examples of limestone scenery. The most obvious tourist attractions are Malham Tarn, Malham Cove, and the Dry valley. The village hosts an annual agricultural and horticultural show on the Saturday before the August Bank Holiday. This is known as the Malham Show and know has competitions for everything from lego models to fell-running. Another major annual event is the Malham Safari, where the villagers and particularly the local school build sculptures around the village. This event attracts many tourists and stalls are put up on the green.

Tourism

Malham is a popular walkers' destination. The rise in tourism over Malham's history has led to a barely-detectable deterioration of the areas surrounding paths as tourists waver off the path and cause very slight, isolated pockets of erosion, a process often called "footpath erosion". The footpaths in the area are maintained by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

In the village itself there is a National Park Information Centre and a large car park, which are attractive to tourists. The long-distance path the Pennine Way passes through the village, which is close to the natural landmarks of Malham Cove, Malham Tarn, Gordale Scar and Janet's Foss. The Malham Show Fell Race runs over the nearby 301-metre (990 ft) Cawden as part of the course.

In May 2006, it was reported that a covert listening device was discovered hidden in the local parish hall, leaving the villagers baffled by its discovery. The electronic transmitter was found in a wall socket during a safety inspection at Malham village hall.

In the 1950s the village gave its name to a Ham class minesweeper, HMS Malham.