Top Yorkshire Show Caves, Caves & Potholes

Top North Yorkshire Show Caves & Potholes

Gaping Gill Pothole

• Gaping Gill is the Uks most famous Pot Hole.
• Twice a year Bradford and Craven pothole clubs set up a winch over the main shaft entrance and the public, for a fee, can make a descent & given a tour around the chamber
• The underground chambers is Britain one of the largest in Britain . It is larger than the naive of York Minster
• The main chamber measures 129m long, 31m high, and 25m wide, & first explored in 1895
• Fell Beck a stream that runs down the slope of mountain enters  a sump a large depresion in the ground before diserpearing into a large hole, Gaping Gill before cascading down a a waterfall 100 metre (330 ft) to the floor of Gaping Gills Chamber, making it the highest unbroken waterfall in England.
• For years it was known that the water emerges at Ingleborough Cave proved by dye tests.
• Cavers, potholers & divers have searched the various underground passages, some only passable by divers for the conection.
• Helped by modern location instuments the 2 group, one from each end got to onlt a metre or two apart, and they could hear each other shouting.
• After some boulder removal Gerald Benn managed to 'shake hands' with Geoff Crossley's wellington boot through a small hole.
• The hole was enlarged and 2 people from each side swaped places& and became the first 4 people to enter one system & emerged from the other on n 28th May 1983. They were Geoff Crossley , Geoff Yeadon, Jim Abbott and Julian Griffiths
•  Only 4 more people have made this journey before the choke passage collaped. This choke was known as  The connection.
• There are now over twenty entrances through which cavers can access the Gaping Gill – Ingleborough Cave System Cave System

Location of Gaping Gill

 
Long Churn Cave by Steven Skilbeck,

 

Mother Shipton's Cave & Dropping Well

The Famous dropping or petrifying well,

• Mother Shipton, a famous prophetess lived 500 years ago in the reigns of King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.
• She foretold the fates of several rulers within and just after her lifetime, as well as the invention of iron ships, the Great Fire of London in 1666, and the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
• Born in the cave besides Knaresborough's famous dropping or petrifying well, an extremely slow running waterfall that turns items to stone by depositing limestone on the item, works similar to how stalactites and stalagmites are formed but much faster
• England’s Oldest Paid Visitor Attraction, open since 1630.
• The cave itself is very small, just large enough for Mother Shipton to live in. The owners have made it & the area intersting & stimulating for children.
• What makes this attraction so popular?
  • Easy access from the large Yorkshire cities
  • Easy & extremely picturesque river side walk
• The attraction may not be suitable for people with impaired mobility. Unfortunately, there is no wheelchair access to the Cave, Well and Museum. Due to the protected tree preservation orders of the site, this restricts any gradients to be installed for wheelchair access.
  • There is access from the main entrance to: to Riverside Walk & Woodland Walk.

Location of Mother Shipton's Cave

• The main entrance (to car park) is on the Harrogate to Knaresborough road just before the bridge over the River Nidd. A very pleasant riverside walk takes you from the car park to the cave.
• The nearest bus stop is on High Bridge. The bus stop is 98ft / 0.02 miles / 0.03 km from Mother Shipton’s Main Entrance
• The nearest train station is Knaresborough Station. The train station is 0.2 miles / 0.3 km from Mother Shipton’s Main Entrance.

Website

 

Ingleborough Show Cave 

Video of Ingleborough Cave & the beautiful walk to the cave

 

• Ingleborough Cave, Possibly the best show cave in England.
• In the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, was first discovered in 1837 by brave Victorian explorers

Location of Ingleborough Cave

• Located on the south side of Ingleborough.
• North of the picturesque village of Clapham in the Yorkshire Dales, we are easily accessible by road and rail.
• Access to the Cave is via the Ingleborough Estate Nature Trail and a small charge is applicable.
• The Trail is a popular 2 km walk suitable for all ages. You should allow a minimum of half an hour for the walk
• By Bus:
  Service 581: Settle - Austwick - Clapham - Ingleton - Kirkby Lonsdale. The Craven Connection bus service. This regular service stops at the New Inn in the centre of Clapham village.
  From there simply follow the signs for Ingleborough Cave and Ingleborough Mountain
• By Train:
  Clapham station is serviced by Northern rail with hourly trains from Leeds and Lancaster & Morecambe. 
  Please note, Clapham Train Station is located approximately 1.2 miles South West of

  Clapham station is serviced by Northern rail with hourly trains from Leeds and Lancaster & Morecambe. 
  Clapham Train Station is located approximately 1.2 miles south west of the village centre

Clapham Hotels

Clapham Hotels

Stump Cross Show Caverns

Video of Stump Cross Caverns Views & History

• An exremely interesting video with views inside the cave and a history how the cave startedit's life in a tropical sea south of the equator 300 million years ago, tht before the age of the dinasors.

 

Location of Stump Cross Show Cavens

Located on the B6265 between Patley Bridge and Grassington at Greenhow

• See the caverns and their amazing stalactites and stalagmites, some 170,000 years old.
• Open mid March to end of October
• Visitor Centre, gift shop, tea room,
• National Park Information point.

White Scar Show Cave

White Scar Cave

 

• The Cave the longest Show Cave in Britain and sculptured by nature over 1000s of years.
• A subterranean landscape under Ingleborough mountain, beautifully lit with gushing streams and waterfalls, exotic cave formations and 1000s of stalactites.
• Formed by an underground river. Note the water sculptured walls. insome locations.
• The cave was found by a man belly crawling through a very low fissure in the rock.
• The present entrance and some sections are man made, ie. mined, for tourist access.
• Because of the low temperature 8⁰ Centigrade a pullover or Jacket is required, even in summer.
• The tour covers 1 mile and takes eighty minutes.
• Open all year except Christmas.
• . Because of the low temperature a pullover or Jacket is required, even in summer. The tour covers 1 mile and takes eighty minutes. Open all year except Christmas.
• The cave is vastly larger than the show cave but currently off limits to experienced cavers due to instability in the boulders beyond Big Bertha choke

Restrictions White Scar Cave

• Flooring: Much of the flooring is metal grid. Unsuitable to Walking sticks & similar aids, & No high heels.
• No pushchair, buggy, wheelchair and guide dog access allowed in the cave. 
• The tour route has 97 steps. that's roughly equivalent to a 7 storey building.
• There are 2 low height locations where you must bend over  at the waist to pass.
• The tour is not considered suitable for people with cardiac conditions.
• Hard hats are provided & must be worn.
• It is recommended that kids wear a woolly hat without a bobble or similar under the hard hat for a snugger fit.

Facilities at White Scar Cave

• :Car Park, Cafe, Cave shop, Picnic areas, Toilets.
• An Eco friendly Visitor centre

Location of White Scar Cave

• 2 miles from Ingleton on the B6255 road to Hawes
• On the West Side of Ingleborough Mountain

 

Tel: 01524 242244 Website

Hull Pot

Dramatic Video of Hull Pot. Aerial view & waterfulls at full flow

• England's largest natural hole in the ground. It looks similar to a quarry.
• Impresive large rectangular hole 91 metres (300 feet) long by 18 metres (60 feet) wide by 18 metres (60 feet) deep.
• Be extremely carful approaching the edge, most of which is a steep slope. A fall will kill.
• Hull Pot is the result of a collapsed caven roof.
• There are two streams that enter the pot forming waterfalls, which can be dry or very dramatic after heavy rain, see video above
• There are also several smaller waterfalls that emerge from horizontal fault lines aproxamatly half way down the Pot walls. These small waterfall can still be flowing when the 2 becks are dry.
• In heavy rain the floor of the hole will be submerged in water
• The Walls of the hole are popular with climbers. The climbs range from an easy chimney to difficult routes.

Location of Hull Pot

• Hull Pot is located on the north western slopes of Pen-y-ghent. .
• 47 minute walk from Horton-In-Ribblesdale Train Station

Victoria Cave Langcliffe, Settle

Interactive 360⁰ Photograph of Victoria Cave

Drag the photo Left, Right, Up, Down or Zoom

• Due to rock falls do NOT enter this cave.

  
  

Jubilee Cave Langcliffe, Settle

Interactive 360⁰ Photograph of Jubilee Cave

Drag the photo Left, Right, Up, Down or Zoom

 

Yordas Cave

• Yordas Cave was a show cave during the nineteenth century
• The cave itself is easy needing only  a helmet, torch and wellies.
• The potholes are tricky and require technical expertise in some parts.

Yordas Cave Location

• The cave is located in a group of trees  just 100m (330 f) from Thornton Lane between Ingleton & Dent
• The conected Yordas Potmiddle entrane is located a 250m higher up the hill. The top entrance pot is futher up

 

Cave & Pothole Clubs in Yorkshire

• Going beyone the extent of show caves is a dangerous sport are requires knowledge, tuition etc, to participate in the sport.
• We stongely recomend joining one of the clubs listed below where you will obtain guidence from its members.

Bradford Pothole Club

• Based in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales
• Large club with headquarters in the Yorkshire Dales.
• The club runs an annual winch meet at Gaping Gill .

Bradford Pothole Club

Red Rose Cave & Pothole Club

 

Red Rose Cave & Pothole Club

York Caving Club

York Caving Club

White Rose Pothole Club

• Based in the Yorkshire Dales

White Rose Pothole Club

Yorkshire Subterranean

• Yorkshire Dales based club
• We have our own hut known as 'The School' which provides Dales-based.Basic self-catering accommodation for our members and outside parties
• STT (single rope technique0 Traininf facility
•  Regular meets to various caving areas around the Dales
• They have teams of Diggers 'The Mad's' (Malham Area Diggers), Cave Divers and Speleologists amongst their members.

Yorkshire Subterranean

Universities

Leeds University Speleological Association

1. Undertakes caving trips for members from novice level through to more technical and challenging trips for the more experienced.Access to our
2. Day trips
3. Weekend trips
4. Give-It-A-Go trips and trips not requiring membership
5. training sessions for University of Leeds students at the EDGE climbing wall

University of Leeds Speleological Association - Caving!

York University Cave and Pothole club

York University Cave and Pothole club