Our Favourite Family Friendly Yorkshire Dales Caves
Walking in Stump Cross Caverns in the Yorkshire Dales
What caves are in the Yorkshire Dales?
LOADS of caves. There are hundreds of caves in the Yorkshire Dales, like HUNDREDS! I mean, I haven’t actually counted them properly, but because I am a little obsessed with caves, I feel like I have researched hundreds! But how many caves in the Yorkshire Dales are actually family friendly to visit?
Well, you’ll be pleased to know that there are a fair few that don’t require you to don a dry suit, your wellies and helmet (although to satisfy health and safety, we’d recommend that you do bring your own to some of our suggestions below - a cycling helmet will do).
So check out our suggestions below for family friendly caves to visit in the Yorkshire Dales! You’ll find caves with hidden waterfalls, show caves including the longest in the whole of the UK, the LARGEST cave in the UK and caves that contained bandits (not anymore though, the baddies always reach a gruesome end!)
One of the spectacular Caverns at Stump Cross
Why are there so many caves in the Yorkshire Dales?
The Yorkshire Dales National Park used to lie at the bottom of a warm Mediterranean type sea and because of that, the rock that makes up most of the national park is limestone. Limestone is created when the remains of sea creatures that swam in the sea sunk to the bottom and slowly and gradually over millions and millions and MEEEEEELLIONS of years they layered on top of each other, hardening to form limestone.
That is why you will find SO MANY FOSSILS in the Yorkshire Dales. The sedimentary nature of the rock trapped shells and plants and if you head to some of the epic caves, you’ll see so many of them just imprinted in the rock of the walls.
You can also easily find them by just walking along the rivers and waterfalls! The Yorkshire Dales may not be by the sea, but there are still fossils to be found!
But what’s the link between limestone and caves? Well, limestone is soluble. So over millions of years, the acid content of rain and water erodes away at the rock to form caverns and subterranean tunnels right under your feet.
This is why I love caves! They are formed by water (I do love water), and they are constantly evolving!
And if you enjoyed that little geek out session, then MY WORD, you’ll enjoy this blog!
Show Caves of the Yorkshire Dales
Are you looking for a full on tour of some beautifully lit wonders of the Yorkshire Dales subterranean world? Well in the Yorkshire Dales, we have no fewer than THREE show caves open to the public, offering tours, trails and access to some of the most spectacular places that lie underneath the soles of your boots.
Let’s start with the longest show cave in the whole of the United Kingdom shall we?
White Scar Cave, Ingleton
What is the longest show cave in the country? White Scar Cave on the side of Ingleborough Mountain!
First discovered in 1923, White Scar cave offers guided tours (the only one of the three Yorkshire Show Caves that does) and it will take you on a mile long journey of exploration! When we visited, the guide we had was exceptional. He was knowledgeable, he was engaging and he had SO MUCH COOL STUFF TO TELL US!
Without giving too much away, you will encounter subterranean waterfalls, wonderfully unique rock formations such as the witches fingers, the Devil’s tongue and the carrots, and the climax of the whole thing is the battlefield cavern!
Epic.
What are the need to know bits?
To enter the cave, you need to pay admission of £15/ adult £11/ child (under 3’s free) Family Tickets are available (information correct as of 2023).
The cave tour lasts just over an hour, I’d allow an hour and half if you want to grab some shots of the cave on the way back out.
Booking is not required.
There are steps and some squeezy bits and at a mile long, it’s a decent trek under the ground!
Wellies are probably best as it is wet (although not muddy obvs!)
Checking one of the waterfalls in White Scar Cave
Stump Cross Caverns
Stump Cross Caverns RULES!
It sets itself apart from the other show caves in the Dales because it offers lots of kid friendly stuff to do! It has a trail, it has a private cinema (available for hire!) it has events and it has a top restaurant too.
There is always something going on at Stump Cross, so make sure you check out their website to see what’s on during the school holidays.
This spectacular set of caverns was stumbled upon by lead miners back in the 1800’s who were working in the Greenhow area (check out our Greenhow Lead Mining walk for a total Stump Cross Experience! Or maybe Trollers Gill might be up your street!)
They saw the potential in the caves and opened them up for visitors, making this one of the oldest tourist attractions in Yorkshire!
The need to know info
Cave tours cost £14/ adult and £10 per child (events are charged differently so check out the Stump Cross Caverns website for more)
Booking is required.
The whole walk will take you anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour.
Wellies are best as it can be wet down there!
The stunning Stump Cross Caverns
Ingleborough Cave, Clapham
Nope, not the one in London, but the one that’s perched right on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, just at the foot of Ingleborough.
In fact the other side of Ingleborough to White Scar.
Ingleborough is a HOLEY mountain! (And we’re not done with it yet!)
This cave is all about the water in my humble opinion. It has underground waterfalls, streams and stunning mirror pools. In my opinion, it’s the most photogenic cave of the three in Yorkshire. It’s like the supermodel of the Yorkshire Show Caves!
Details?
This cave is easy like a Sunday morning! No booking required, just turn up at the Ingleborough Estate Nature Trail and pay for the cave there, or you can wander along the trail and pay at the cave too! Adults £13, Children £6.50 (prices include £2.50 for estate trail admission)
Yes, you read that correctly, to access this show cave you have to walk to it. It’s not right next to the car park like the other two, so be prepared.
The walk along the Estate trail is easy underfoot, is pushchair friendly and is around a mile and a half each way. But you don’t have to pay the admission of the trail to get there, you can bypass this on the bridleway (we would recommend you do go on the trail though, it’s beautiful)
You could just about squeeze a pushchair along Ingleborough cave, but carriers are best. They strongly recommend front rather than back carriers.
All equipment is provided to explore this cave.
The mirror pools at Ingleborough Cave
An epic adventure: Gaping Gill
This one is definitely for the Yorkshire Dales bucket list!
Did you know that Gaping Gill is not only home to the longest single drop waterfall in the UK (it’s underground, and there seem to be a few waterfalls vying for that title!) but the cavern is one of the largest in the UK too?!
Yup, the towering waterfall falls into a cavern that is SO expansive that you could fit St Paul’s Cathedral inside it.
See? EPIC adventure.
The catch?
You can only access Gaping Gill on Winch Days…
Gaping Gill on Winch Day
What’s the Gaping Gill Winch?
Well it is quite literally the days of the year where the Craven and Bradford Caving Clubs arrange for the average folk of the general public (like me! ) to get lowered into the gigantic black hole and into the cave below.
Taking place roughly around the May Bank holiday and then again in August, these events offer you the opportunity to experience something that is absolutely up there with some of the most adventurous things you can do in the Dales.
And I would highly recommend it!
If you are also similarly excited about being winched, then you can read out full blog about doing the Gaping Gill winch with the kids!
Exploring the gigantic cavern below Gaping Gill
Want a cave to explore that’s a little bit of an adventure?
Yordas Cave is your MAN!
Love this place. As an ex Victorian Show Cave, you will see a gigantic HUGE MAHOOSIVE cavern. A subterranean river, and….
A secret waterfall…..
YES!
Yordas is a super place to explore, and will make you feel like a real adventurer, but as this is NOT a show cave, you do need to be careful! When exploring caves we recommend you wear a helmet (a bike helmet will do!) wear sturdy wellies or walking boots for this one, as you will get wet feet otherwise AND you will need a good torch (and a headtorch if you can too).
Without a torch you will see NOOOOOOTHING! Nada. Nowt. And you’ll probably end up in a bit of a pickle. So TORCH. Bring it (and don’t say we haven’t warned you!)
Do not attempt to enter Yordas after heavy rainfall, as the water level in the cave will rise.
For more information then you can head to our Yordas Cave page!
Exploring Yordas Cave with a torch
Explore the Settle Caves
If you’re after a little more of a challenge in the walk department, why not walk to the caves found above Langcliffe and Settle?
Victoria Cave in Settle was found when an unwitting chap fell into what he thought was a fox hole back in 1837. What was found was in fact an enormous cave containing a vast array of exotic animal bones, such as hippos, hyenas, rhinos and elephants …. not your AVERAGE resident animals of the Yorkshire Dales eh?!
Victoria cave is accessible to explore now up a narrow steep path, and whilst a lot of the cave is behind a barrier to protect the area, it is really cool to go and see!
A little further on, is Jubilee Cave, which is another excellent place for a headtorch adventure! The caves are easy to reach, making them excellent for an adventure for a budding explorer!
You can find out how to walk to the Settle Caves by heading to our page!
The entrance to Jubilee Cave in Langcliffe
Tom Taylor’s Cave, How Stean Gorge
Not a show cave, but located in the quite frankly EPIC How Stean Gorge, this cave is part of the gorge walk around the attraction.
Primarily known for its adventure experiences, you can also grab an activity pack and explore the Site of Special Scientific Interest by taking a wander along the gorge, spotting the crazy rock formations and then heading through Tom Taylor’s Cave!
Who was Tom Taylor?
Well, he was a dastardly highwayman, a murderer and a thief. The cave at How Stean Gorge was his hideout, and he hid his loot there. That was until he was tracked down by the locals who dealt him a hand of vigilante justice, and hung him right there in the cave! He’s supposed to still be ‘hanging around….’
Spooky right?
Details?
You need to pre-book your visit to How Stean Gorge, so head to the website for more information.
Take your sturdy boots with you on this walk to make sure you don’t slip!
Be prepared for the walk! The trail is not pushchair friendly, and the cave is a squeeze too, so probably not the easiest with a little one in a sling.
So which cave are you going to explore?
Let us know in the comments!
PLEASE NOTE: We are not experienced cavers. Should you choose to explore any of the suggested caves above, you do so at your own risk. We have never strayed past the entrance to a cave and recommend wearing protective equipment.
If you like this…
Why not check out our walk to Scoska Cave?
Or you could try a walk to Schoolboy’s Cave?
(Both of these walks are more challenging and are suitable for older explorers only.)
