Cowside

Cowside is a side dale of Littondale in North Yorkshire, England. The valley, which faces in a north east direction, carries the waters of Cowside Beck to the River Skirfare at Arncliffe, draining an area of 8.9 square miles (23 km2), and flowing for 7.5 miles (12 km). Cowside is one of the few 'V'-shaped valleys in the Yorkshire Dales (as opposed to a 'U'-shaped valley) which had ice run across the valley, but not down it. The only settlement in the valley is Darnbrook, a very small hamlet at the foot of Darnbrook Fell. Cowside is a common name in the Craven area of the Yorkshire Dales, and it is not to be confused with the Cowside in Upper Wharfedale near Buckden, nor the Cowside Beck near Stainforth. Most of the valley is in the civil parish of Arncliffe, but the upper part of the valley, including the hamlet of Darnbrook, is in the civil parish of Malham Moor. Part of Cowside valley is within the protected area: Malham-Arncliffe SSSI.