Weathercote Cave

Weathercote Cave is a limestone shaft cave in the hamlet of Chapel-le-Dale, a few miles from Ingleton in the Yorkshire Dales, northern England. An underground stream drops into its deep entrance, and since the 1700s travellers, painters and guidebook writers have treated it as a natural wonder.

What is Weathercote Cave?

It is a solutional cave, carved by water through the limestone at the foot of Ingleborough, one of the region's Three Peaks. The entrance is a vertical shaft roughly 20 metres (66 ft) deep. At one end, water emerges from an underground passage and falls into the pit as a waterfall. A large wedged boulder overhangs the top, known as "Mohammed's Coffin", a name dating from the eighteenth century.

Where does it sit in the landscape?

The cave lies on the valley floor of Chapel-le-Dale, below the Hill Inn, within the Ingleborough Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The surroundings are classic Dales country: pale limestone hillsides, drystone walls and streams that vanish underground into a wider cave system.

What is its history?

• 1751 – Richard Pococke wrote one of the first detailed accounts.
• 1778–1780 – Thomas West's Lake District guide and John Hutton's tour of the caves around Ingleborough made the shaft widely known. Hutton called the fall a "stupendous subterranean cataract".
• 1781 – a guide was charging visitors one shilling for entry.
• 1800s – J.M.W. Turner visited and painted the site, and later guidebooks routinely included it.
• 1971 – the last year it was open to paying visitors.

The owner reported in the 1700s that heavy rain made the shaft overflow on several occasions, including 1757, 1759 and 1771.

Can you visit?

No. The cave stands on private land at Weathercote House and is closed to the public. Entry is by prior arrangement only, so don't try to reach it uninvited: it is a wet shaft on private property. The neighbouring systems of Hurtle Pot and Jingle Pot are flooded and can be explored only by cave divers.

How do you get there?

Chapel-le-Dale lies on the B6255 between Ingleton and Ribblehead. By car it is a few minutes from Ingleton. The Hill Inn is the handiest landmark, and it is also a starting point for the popular routes up Ingleborough and towards Ribblehead Viaduct. Public transport in the valley is limited, so a car or taxi works best.

Frequently asked questions

Is Weathercote Cave open to tourists? No. It stopped operating as a paid attraction in 1971, and access today needs prior arrangement with the landowner.

How deep is the shaft? About 20 metres. Water enters it as a waterfall from an underground passage.

Is it the same as Ingleborough Cave? No. Ingleborough Cave is on the far side of the mountain near Clapham and is a separate cave.

What else is nearby? The Ingleborough hiking trails, Ribblehead Viaduct and the waterfalls of Ingleton.