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White Scar Cave

White Scar Cave is near Ingleton in the western Dales, and is the longest show cave in Britain. Guided tours run throughout the day and last about eighty minutes, taking in a series of underground chambers, formations, streams and a notable cavern called the Battlefield, with its flowstone formations. The cave is a more structured experience than the natural local caves around Garsdale such as Tom Croft Cave and Dovecote Cave - electric lighting throughout, no need to bring a torch, and a guide to point out the geology. It works well in combination with the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail, which is just up the road, with Ingleborough Cave at Clapham further along, or with a day exploring the Three Peaks. Children enjoy it, and the temperature underground stays steady year-round, which makes it a useful rainy-day option as well.

White Scar Cave is the longest show cave in Britain, set in the Yorkshire Dales National Park on the B6255 road, about two miles from the village of Ingleton in North Yorkshire. The cave was discovered in 1923 and opened to the public shortly after, and the guided tour takes around eighty minutes through a mile of underground passages, stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone formations. The best-known feature is the Battlefield, a vast natural cavern with thousands of delicate white stalactites, and there is the Judge's Head, a stalagmite that looks uncannily like a bewigged judge in profile.

The cave stays at a steady 8°C all year round, so a jumper or jacket is a good idea whatever the weather above ground. There is a large car park beside the road and the cave entrance and visitor centre are a two-minute walk from it. The B6255 runs from Ingleton over to Hawes, so the cave pairs well with a day out in Upper Wensleydale if you are staying in Garsdale.

White Scar Cave

Stay Near White Scar Cave

We have three holiday cottages in Garsdale you can use as a base for visiting White Scar Cave.

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