Gaping Gill 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.