Underground Scenery Of Yorkshire’s White Scar Cave

I’m not always a fan of caves: I don’t like the idea of dark narrow passages or the feeling of being trapped. But I couldn’t resist this description of White Scar Cave, deep in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – “the path winds its way past cascading waterfalls… to an immense ice-age cavern adorned with thousands of stalactites”. I had to see this amazing underground scenery for myself!

The Longest Show Cave In England

It might be a tourist attraction today, but White Scar Cave was unknown until 1923. That was when Christopher Long, a keen potholer, was holidaying in the Yorkshire Dales and spotted a stream gushing out of a hole in the hillside. He armed himself with waterproofs and candles and wriggled inside to explore. Eventually he found a wide open cavern full of water and strange limestone scenery.

Long may have had a tight squeeze to enter the cave but – fortunately for today’s visitors – the original entrance was later excavated by Cornish tin miners to make it tall enough and wide enough for less intrepid explorers to walk along comfortably. White Scar is now the longest show cave in England.

Hard Hats And Narrow Passages

Entrance is by guided tour. We donned hard hats and set off down the dark passage with Margaret, our guide.

As we walked a river rushed noisily beneath our feet. There were a few low sections – I was glad of the hard hat – but any minor discomfort was more than compensated for by the sight of spectacular waterfalls and rock formations.

Strange Limestone Formations

It was a photographer’s dream. The water had sculpted strange shapes into the stones and many of them had been given names such as the Witch’s Fingers or the Devil’s Tongue. The light bounced eerily off the stone and it was easy to see how such names might have arisen. Then there were the waterfalls, crashing loudly to the floor, a surreal sight so far underground. And every so often we saw fossils, millions of years old, packed into the rockface.  

Finally we came to the Old Battlefield Cavern – only discovered in 1971 – where stalactites have been growing from the ceiling for more than 300 million years. 

Doing It The Hard Way

Margaret told us how the cave continues to attract serious cavers, who climb up vertical shafts, worm their way through unlit passages and swim across the dark subterranean lake. Not my idea of fun, I thought, as we emerged, eyes blinking in the sunlight, and went to photograph the river that bursts through the cave into the hillside.  

Visiting The White Scar Cave

• All visits are by guided tour. Tours last for around 80 minutes.
• Pre-booking is not essential. Note that tours may be postponed in extreme weather conditions.
• White Scar Cave is around 3 km from Ingleton. Buses run to Ingleton from Lancaster, Kirkby Lonsdale and Settle.
• Car parking is available.

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