Malham Cove and Gordale Scar: Harry Potter and Climbing Waterfalls

Malham was one of those days that didn't feel real. We'd been promised "the Harry Potter rock" by Dad for ages, and he wasn't exaggerating. If you've seen the Deathly Hallows film, you'll know the bit where Harry and Hermione are camping on this weird, cracked stone landscape – well, that's the top of Malham Cove, and we were standing right there! Hugo immediately started pretending to cast spells with a stick, shouting "Expelliarmus!" at a very confused sheep.

We started in Malham village, which is the cutest little stone village with a babbling beck running right through the middle. We crossed a tiny bridge and followed the path up towards the Cove. Even before you see it properly, you get this feeling of something massive ahead. Then you turn the corner and BAM – this huge, curving wall of white limestone cliff just rears up in front of you, like nature's own amphitheatre. It's 80 metres tall and totally vertical. We saw rock climbers stuck to it like tiny ants, which made my stomach do a little flip.

We climbed up the steep stone steps to the top (there are loads of them – Hugo counted 400 and then lost count). And there it was: the limestone pavement. It's like a giant grey jigsaw puzzle, with deep cracks called "grikes" between the flat blocks called "clints." You have to be really careful jumping across them because some of the grikes are deep enough to swallow a small leg. Hugo nearly went down one. Inside the cracks, tiny ferns and wildflowers grow, hidden away from the sheep. It felt totally otherworldly, like walking on the moon, or, you know, on a horcrux hunt.

From there we walked up the dry valley to Gordale Scar, and this is where it got really exciting. Gordale Scar is this enormous gorge with overhanging cliffs that lean in towards each other, and right at the back there's a waterfall pouring down through a hole in the rock. To get to the top, you actually have to climb up the waterfall! Not like proper rock climbing with ropes – there's a route up the wet limestone with good handholds and footholds, but it is properly steep and you do get wet. Mum looked nervous. Dad was grinning. Hugo was already halfway up.

The water was freezing on our hands and the rock was slippery, but it was the most fun thing ever. At the top of the scramble we sat on a rock, soaked from the knees down, eating cheese sandwiches and watching the water tumble down beside us. From there we followed Gordale Beck back, past Janet's Foss – a lovely smaller waterfall that drops into a perfect little plunge pool surrounded by mossy trees. Legend says a fairy queen called Janet lives behind it. We didn't see her, but it definitely felt magical enough.

Back in Malham village, we collapsed at the café for hot chocolate and proper Yorkshire scones. Three landmarks, one waterfall scramble, limestone pavements straight out of a film, and very wet socks. Easily one of our top five days ever in the hills. The contour lines for this one are mad – they're packed so close together at the Cove that the t-shirt almost looks like a barcode!