Janet's Foss, Malham

Janet's Foss, Malham, North Yorkshire.
Janet's Foss: 'Jennet's Waterfall' (Old Norse).
Gordale Beck flows over a limestone outcrop into a lovely pool which was once used for cleaning sheep before shearing. The lip behind the fall is composed of tufa (a porous, sponge-like rock created when calcite from the water builds up around moss and leaves). Since Viking times it has been believed that Jennet (Janet), queen of the local fairies lived in a cave behind the waterfall. The actual Janet’s Cave though is not behind the fall but under a curved fold of rock on the far bank. This cave was once inhabited by smelters working at the Pikedaw copper mines on the far side of the village. .Janet’s Foss was the fictional waterfall, Molkham Falls in the 2006 film, Waterfall.