Hidden Gem in West Yorkshire

Gaping Gill on the slopes of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales is the largest natural cavern in Britain, a pothole shaft approximately 110 metres deep into which the Fell Beck stream plunges in a free-falling waterfall that is the highest unbroken waterfall in England. The pothole is descended by experienced cavers using rope techniques and twice yearly, during the Whitsun and August bank holiday weekends, the Bradford Pothole Club and the Craven Pothole Club erect winch gear on the surface that allows members of the public to be lowered to the cavern floor in a bosun's chair, one of the most extraordinary adventure activities available in the Yorkshire Dales. The cavern at the base of the shaft is of enormous size, approximately 150 metres long and 30 metres wide, large enough to contain York Minster in its interior. The falls of Fell Beck entering through the shaft opening above create a spectacular light effect in the chamber during the hours when sunlight enters the shaft, the waterfall catching the light in a display of considerable drama. The stream continues underground from the cavern floor through a complex of passages to emerge eventually at the Ingleborough Cave show cave near Clapham. The winch meet experience, during which members of the public can be lowered to the cavern floor and spend a few minutes in this extraordinary underground space, is one of the most memorable and most unusual outdoor activities available in Britain, combining the height of the descent, the darkness of the cavern and the sight of the waterfall entering from above in an experience quite unlike anything available at the surface.

Gordale Scar near Malham in the Yorkshire Dales is one of the most dramatic natural rock formations in England, a vast overhanging gorge cut into the Great Scar Limestone by the combined action of glacial meltwater and subsequent river erosion that creates a theatrical amphitheatre of vertical and overhanging limestone walls up to 100 metres high through which a waterfall tumbles in a composition of geological drama unsurpassed anywhere in the Pennines. The scar has been a destination for Romantic tourists since the late eighteenth century and was painted by Turner in a composition of savage grandeur. The approach through the increasingly narrow limestone gorge, with the walls rising above on both sides until they overhang and almost touch above the path, creates one of the finest natural approach sequences available at any natural heritage site in Britain. The moment at which the full extent of the scar opens ahead, with the waterfall tumbling through the rocks in the inner gorge and the overhanging walls framing the sky above, is one of the most dramatic natural reveals available in the Yorkshire Dales. The waterfall in the inner gorge is climbed by experienced walkers as a scramble route giving access to the limestone plateau above and the Malham Tarn country beyond, one of the classic short adventure walks of the Yorkshire Dales. The combination of Gordale Scar with the nearby Malham Cove and Malham Tarn, all accessible within a few hours of walking from Malham village, creates one of the finest limestone landscape excursions available in the national park.

Hardcastle Crags near Hebden Bridge in the South Pennines is a wooded valley of exceptional beauty managed by the National Trust, a deep gill in the gritstone moorland above the Calder Valley whose combination of the ancient sessile oak woodland, the tumbling stream, the Victorian mill buildings and the moorland landscape above creates one of the most atmospheric and most rewarding walking destinations in West Yorkshire. The valley is locally known as Little Switzerland for the alpine quality of its wooded valley scenery, a comparison that flatters Yorkshire but captures something of the dramatic contained character of this gritstone gorge. The National Trust woodland of Hardcastle Crags is one of the finest examples of ancient sessile oak woodland in the South Pennines, the damp, sheltered conditions of the gill providing the Atlantic oceanic woodland habitat that supports a rich community of mosses, liverworts, ferns and the characteristic woodland flowers of ancient broadleaved woodland. The wood anemones and bluebells of spring and the rich colours of the autumn beech provide the finest seasonal displays. The combination of Hardcastle Crags with the literary heritage of Hebden Bridge below, whose association with Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath and the contemporary creative community that has made it one of the most culturally vibrant small towns in Yorkshire, provides an excellent framework for a day in the Calder Valley that combines natural beauty with cultural richness.