Ingleton
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The village of Ingleton is situated near the Lancashire border with Yorkshire and is popular for walking, hiking and caving, surrounded by superb scenery with caves, waterfalls, and mountains. The Craven Fault crosses the area and geological and archaeological sites abound in the area.
Ingleborough Cave, first entered and made accessible in 1837, is the premier show cave in the Yorkshire Dales. It has been featured many times on television. The tours of the Cave leave from the entrance at regular intervals with an expert guide to help interpret the many features of the Cave. The passages are floodlit with well-laid concrete paths, the usual walking or outdoor clothing will suffice and there are no steps so the Cave is accessible for pushchairs.
White Scar Cave, situated just outside of Ingleton is the longest show cave in Britain. A spectacular natural cave in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. See underground streams and waterfalls, thousands of stalactites, and the massive 200.000-year-old Battlefield Cavern.
The famous Ingleton Waterfalls Trail (pictured right) has been established since the nineteenth century and offers the visitor some of the most spectacular waterfall and woodland scenery in the North of England. The trail is 4.5 miles in length and leads through ancient oak woodland and magnificent scenery via a series of stunning waterfalls and geological features.
The Falls Café is situated at the entrance to the Waterfalls Trail and is open daily, serving a range of hot and cold meals and refreshments. There is also The Falls Refreshment Centre situated half way round the trail where drinks and light snacks can be bought.
The Church of St Mary The Virgin in the village dates from 1886 but boasts fine, old, Norman font dating from 1150 suggesting that a church has occupied the site since the twelfth century. A brass in the church commemorates the death of one Randall Hopley Sherlock, brother of the Reverend Sherlock, a vicar of Ingleton, who was struck by lightning at Ingleton station.
There are a number of sixteenth century buildings remaining in the village, and remnants of its agricultural past can be found in places like the village square. The old bullring, where animals were baited and slaughtered in the past, can still be seen in the tarmac.
Nearby places of interest
Leighton Hall is the lived-in house of the famous furniture making Gillow dynasty and is situated to the west of the village of Yealand Conyers, just outside Carnforth.