How to get to Great Close Hill from Malham Tarn

Directions:

1. From the car park , take the wide grassy track heading in the direction of the water. The path takes you to the edge of the tarn and then follows the water before gradually bending round to the right and meeting the edge of the woodland to your left. Follow this path, until you reach a gate onto a wide stony track, which roughly follows the perimeter of the tarn (but the water is now at a distance).

2. Walk along the stony track as far as the edge of more woodland (these are the woods surrounding Malham Tarn Field Centre). Don’t enter the woodland, but instead turn right up the signposted path to your right. You will begin to climb at this point. The hill to your right as you ascend is Great Close Hill and as you reach the saddle, where the ground levels out a little, you need to turn off to the right . There is no ‘public footpath’ marked on the map, but you are on open access land where you have the ‘right to roam’ and in reality, there is a trodden grassy path which leads you to the summit. You will be heading in a south-eastern direction isfyou fancy getting the compass out!

3. Once at the top you’ll see the huge cairn. Be careful not to disturb any of the rocks, you are actually at an ancient burial mound and the site is protected monument. From here, you’ll get cracking views over the tarn and the surrounding fells! At this point you have options. The path beyond this point is faint and requires good navigation skills to use the contours of the hill to descend. Be careful not to head right (and therefore south west) at the cairn, as you’ll find yourself walking towards the scar, which has a steep drop. Instead, keep straight on and if in doubt, left using the gradient of the hill to safely get down. There is a faint path, but one that’s not 100% obvious. A true adventure! In ground nesting bird season, do stick to the trodden path (March to July).

4. If you aren’t keen on the idea of wandering wild and free, simply retrace your steps to the tarn. If you fancy a little more of a wander, you can enter the woods around the field centre, there’s a little information centre and some chainsaw sculptures to spot too.

5. If you’ve soldiered onwards, then at the bottom of the hill, you’ll meet a wide surfaced track, that provides access to the farmhouses beyond. Turn right onto this, (it’s a public bridleway) and head over the cattle grid through the dry stone wall. You will see a little plantation of trees to your right. After the cattle grid, turn right and follow the line of the wall to lead you back to the track you used at the start of the walk to go to Malham Tarn. Here, head back to the car park.

Last walked February 2024