White Scar Caves

Show cave in North Yorkshire, England

54°09′56″N 2°26′29″W / 54.165626°N 2.441345°W / 54.165626; -2.441345Length6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi)Elevation259 metres (850 ft)Discovery1923GeologyCarboniferous limestoneEntrances2HazardsWaterAccessShow caveShow cave openedOpened 1925Show cave length1,600 metres (1,700 yd)Cave surveycavemaps.orgWebsitewww.whitescarcave.co.uk

White Scar Caves is a show cave in the civil parish of Ingleton, North Yorkshire, England, under Ingleborough in the Chapel-le-Dale valley of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is a solutional resurgence cave formed in Carboniferous limestone, some 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) long.

It was first explored in August 1923 by two amateur geologists, Christopher Long^[1] and J.H. Churchill, but further discoveries have been made since then including "The Battlefield", one of the largest known cave chambers in Great Britain at 90 metres (300 ft) long.^[2] Originally accessed through a vertical boulder choke, an access tunnel has been cut to include it on the visitor trail.

The system is open as a show cave, the entrance being from the Ribblehead to Ingleton road on the west of Ingleborough, with tours being run throughout the year. The visitor facilities include a shop and café.

References

^ Rodgers, Peter (1978). Geology of the Yorkshire Dales. Clapham, N. Yorkshire: Dalesman. p. 77. ISBN 0852064829.
^ "Caving". White Scar Cave. Retrieved 26 October 2023.