Caves and Waterfalls

Index
Caves And Waterfalls

Discover a breathtaking underground world beneath your feet in North Yorkshire. Show caves full of caverns bigger than cathedrals and labyrinths of tunnels and paths are waiting to be explored.

Carved out during the last Ice Age and discovered by intrepid Victorian cavers, the spectacular displays of stalactites clinging on to the ceiling and stalagmites reaching up high create a magical realm of otherworldliness. These show caves are found in the Yorkshire Dales near the villages of Ingleton, Clapham and Grassington. The cave networks beneath the Yorkshire Dales National Park are so vast, there are still miles of tunnels and caverns waiting to be discovered. The area is popular with cavers and potholers.

For a unique experience, for one week in May and August local potholing groups operate a winch to take visitors down into Gaping Gill, one of the largest underground chambers in the UK and usually only accessible to experienced cavers and potholers.

Dramatic waterfalls are dotted around North Yorkshire and make for a stunning backdrop. In the Yorkshire Dales, the three drop Aysgarth Falls are situated in pretty woodland, whereas the dramatic Hawdraw Force is the highest single drop waterfall in England.

In the North York Moors, you can find spectacular waterfalls hidden deep in woodland. View the spectacle of the tumbling waterfall of Mallyan Spout as it rises from springs in the moorland above Goathland and falls down the 70 feet high ravine to the natural pool beneath on a 3-mile circular walk.

The 30-foot Falling Foss waterfall near Whitby can be reached on a 2-mile circular route that passes an idyllic woodland tea garden, before returning alongside babbling May Beck. It’s a lovely shady walk for summer with shallow waters to paddle in, and a bridge to play pooh-sticks from.