Clapham Village to Ingleborough Cave

Start

Clapham Village National Park Car Park Postcode LA2 8EQ

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible through village (cars on road).
Wheelchair ‘push able’ along nature trail to Ingleborough Cave but hard work, some steep gradients.
No stiles, 1 kissing gate.
Seating along the nature trail and benches at the caves.

Facilities

Toilets in car park at start and at cave if visiting. Cafes in village and refreshments available at Ingleborough Cave.

Distance

1 ½ mile from car park to Ingleborough Cave

Route & Map

Leave car park and cross the road to take the old broken bridge across the river. Turn right following the sign to Ingleborough Cave. Follow the road through the village past the church and the waterfall to the gateway marking the entrance to the nature trail (a small entrance fee is payable here in a ticket machine), continue through the gateway onto the nature trail.
Follow the path as it zig-zags its way up the slope to meet the lake that feeds the waterfall. Continue along lakeside path, you will begin to go up hill and enter the woods.
Continue along the path in through the woods and past the grotto enjoying glimpses of the hills on the other side of the valley.
Continue through the gate at the end of the woodland and out into the open and along the trail to Ingleborough Caves.

Route Options

Return the way you came through the nature trail.
Extend your walk along the same path to look at Trow Gill, the track becomes rough after the cave so only continue if you can walk on uneven ground. Carry on over the stile and through the valley then round the corner to see Trow Gill, a ravine created in the ice age with overhanging rocks of a former cave, then return the way you came.
Return the way you came but take the path up a steep track off to the right about 90m before the gate into the woods. Head up the track to Clapdale Farm. Turn left through the gate/stile into the farmyard and then along the rough access track through the fields and down into the village. Once at the road turn left to head back into the village.
Return the way you came but take the path down to the river just before the gate into the woods. Head over the bridge and directly up the steep hillside to meet a stile in the dry stone wall at the top. Once over the wall turn right along the rough track (Long Lane) enjoying the views. At the T-junction turn right onto Thwaites Lane and follow the track down the steep hill and through the tunnels at the back of Ingleborough Hall. Once back at the road turn left through the village back to the car park.

What to look for

Clapham village (click here to find out more about the village itself https://www.claphamyorkshire.co.uk/)
The Nature Trail
1. The Nature trail was set up by the Ingleborough Estate to commemorate Reginald Farrer a botanist and seed collector. The woods are home to many of the new species of rhododendrons, shrubs and alpine plants that he collected in China, Tibet and Upper Burma in the early 1900s. Farrer is said to have fired seeds from his shotgun to make them look natural.
2. Electricity has been generated on the estate using water turbines since 1893, it was the first electric system in the North West of England and generated power for the Hall, the church and street lights in the village.
Visit Ingleborough Cave https://www.ingleboroughcave.co.uk (entrance fee payable, tours on the hour and half hour at peak times). Ingleborough cave is an accessible show cave where you can see an awe inspiring range of stunning cave formations. The imposing cave entrance and the large passages are full of artefacts dating back millions of years along with the evidence of the significant impact of the Ice Ages.
There are also opportunities to go further into the cave beyond the normal tour contact Clapham Adventure https://claphamadventure.co.uk/ to find out more.
Just after the lake you cross a bridge across a small stream. This marks the Craven Fault, a line in the geology that is the boundary between the limestone rocks of the Ingleborough area and the sandstone of the Bowland area.
The stone building on the left in the woodland is known as the grotto, this was a place shelter and to stop and enjoy the view of the limestone scars opposite. Building it provided much needed work during the recession in the early 19^th century.

info@peopleandthedales.org

Clapham Village to Ingleborough Cave

What to look for