Stump Cross Caverns
Stump Cross Caverns near Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales is a show cave of considerable scientific and visual interest, a system of limestone caverns formed over the past two million years that was discovered in 1858 by lead miners and has been open to the public since 1860. The cave contains fine examples of stalagmites, stalactites and other cave formations, and fossil bones of Pleistocene animals found within the cave have provided important evidence of Ice Age wildlife in Britain. Approximately 700 metres of the system are open to the public as a guided show cave experience. The formations represent examples of the main speleothem types including stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone and cave pearls, their variable colours resulting from different mineral impurities deposited by dripping water over hundreds of thousands of years. The Pleistocene animal remains found in the cave include wolves, reindeer, wolverines and bison, deposited during warmer interglacial periods when these species ranged across the Yorkshire Dales. The Dales landscape above the cave provides excellent walking and the nearby Grassington village is the principal centre of upper Wharfedale, making Stump Cross a rewarding stop on any visit to the northern Dales.