Victoria Cave, Jubilee Cave and Warrendale Knotts from Settle, Yorkshire Dales
This fairly short, but feature-packed circular hike starts and finishes in the lovely market town of Settle in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales and proceeds initially along the Dales High Way into the nearby hills and towards the caves to the North East of the town.
Gorgeous scenery very quickly presents itself as you continue on the path out of the town and up to the first main feature of the route – Warrendale Knotts, which has a short, steep but very worthwhile ascent up the side of the hill to reach the Ordnance Survey trig pillar on the summit. What a beautiful place! With 360 degree views over the surrounding Dales and towards the peaks of Pen-y-Ghent and Ingleborough to the North.
The route then continues to the incredibly interesting and historic Victoria Cave, where archaeologists have found bones up to 130,000 years old, including those of hippos, elephants and hyenas! Don’t forget your head-torch so you can have a good look around!! More recently the cave was used by brown bears to hibernate after the last Ice Age.
The walk then proceeds a short distance to another small cave, ‘Jubilee Cave’ which is also worth exploring, before descending back to Settle along the Pennine Bridleway.
A beautiful and interesting route in a stunning part of the Yorkshire Dales… And a perfect morning, afternoon or evening adventure for all ages.
Distance: 4.7 miles (7.6 km)
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate (1 steep climb and some uneven terrain)
Time: 3-4 Hours
Terrain: Hills, open countryside, caves (no technical caving experience required)
Parking: Settle town centre. Greenfoot car park, BD24 9RW. (Currently £2.80 all day).
This route guide is part of the Taylor’s of Harrogate Coffee Bag Adventures Collection and was created by OS Champion Adrian Conchie
