Best time to go
Weekends and event days are the busiest, which affects both the walk in and how freely you can pause for photos in the cave. A weekday visit gives you more room on the path and better odds of clean shots of the formations.
Overview
About Ingleborough Cave
Why stop
- Floodlit limestone formations worth the woodland approach
- Dog-friendly route through woodland
Heads up
- A long walk in and out
- Cool cave with low-ceiling sections
Ingleborough Cave sits in the Yorkshire Dales National Park near Clapham, and it pairs two experiences in one outing: a walk through woodland on the Ingleborough Estate Nature Trail and a 0.5 km self-guided route underground (1 km there and back) past floodlit stalactites and flowstone. It suits families, and well behaved dogs on leads are welcome on the trail, in the cave and in the cafe.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stop hereMap
Where it is
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Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Best time to go
Accessibility
1 active Yorkshire Dales alert
- ClosureTemporary closures on public rights of wayAvoid the listed sections of public rights of way while their temporary closures or pedestrian prohibition are in force. - Public Bridleway No. 52 (05.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yorkshire Dales Tour Guide
Your drive to Ingleborough Cave, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yorkshire Dales National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Clapham and Ingleborough Cave0:00 / 0:34
“You're approaching Clapham, a stone village divided by a beck and a good base for Ingleborough's cave country.”
Plays as you drive up to Ingleborough Cave in the Parkwolf Yorkshire Dales Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Norber Erratics
- The Shotgun Garden
- Washing the Tar out of Wool
- The Summit That May Not Be a Fort
- 298 audio storiesacross Yorkshire Dales’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Eurasian Otter, Atlantic Salmon, Short-eared Owl, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 99 trails, 63 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Ingleborough Cave
What makes it distinctiveThe cave was first entered in 1837, when natural calcite dams were broken after a severe flood.
The cave was first entered in 1837, when natural calcite dams were broken after a severe flood. It once carried water from the 17 km Gaping Gill system, and cavers proved the connection in 1983. Beyond the visitor path, woolly rhinoceros remains were found in 2001, which gives some sense of how far the passages run past where you turn around.
What you actually doWalk the route at your own pace on a well laid concrete path with floodlighting and no steps.
- Walk the route at your own pace on a well laid concrete path with floodlighting and no steps.
- Expect two short stooping sections where you duck under low ceiling.
- Temperature holds at about 8 C all year, so it feels cool even in summer.
- Photography is permitted, though you are expected to keep moving rather than settle in for long setups.
The approachAccess is on foot only, roughly 2 km each way (just over a mile) through Ingleborough Estate…
Access is on foot only, roughly 2 km each way (just over a mile) through Ingleborough Estate woodland from the ticket foyer and Old Sawmill Cafe. You pass a lake, the money tree and Aunt Bessie's Grotto, with gradual inclines along the way. Clapham car park is the practical place to leave a vehicle, then you walk from there. Plenty of visitors arrive expecting to park at the entrance, so factor the full walk in twice.
PreparationWear suitable footwear; the trail can be muddy or gritty after rain.
Wear suitable footwear; the trail can be muddy or gritty after rain. Bring a layer for the cave temperature. There are toilets including disabled facilities at the trail entrance cafe, and a small cave shop with drinks, snacks and souvenirs. Note that cave toilets are for valid day pass or membership holders.
Honest drawbacksThe approach walk is real distance on foot in both directions, the cave stays cool, the…
The approach walk is real distance on foot in both directions, the cave stays cool, the stooping sections mean bending low, and the trail surface can be messy in wet weather. Some visitors also feel the ticket price is steep for the length of the underground route, so it lands best if you treat the woodland walk as part of what you are paying for.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yorkshire Dales
10 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsAtlantic SalmonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsShort-eared OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
22 sightingsWestern Barn OwlMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
27 sightingsTawny OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
34 sightingsCommon KingfisherMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yorkshire Dales. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
