Yorkshire cavern opens to tourists who dare to drop in
From trike tours to llama trekking, try these bank holiday adventures
THIS weekend is one of only two all year where you can be winched into the 300ft deep Gaping Gill, a huge underground cavern in the Yorkshire Dales.
Here, JAMES ELLIS tests the winch and recommends four other bank holiday adventure ideas in Yorkshire.
Descend deep into Gaping Gill
Imagine sitting on a chair as the floor gives way below, and starting a slow descent into the unknown.
Then throw in a fast-flowing waterfall that’s twice as high as Niagara, and the fact you have no idea where you’re going, while getting sprayed with freezing cold water on the way.
If that sounds like some kind of horror film, it’s what the good folk of the Craven and Bradford pothole clubs do for fun.
And thanks to them, there are two weekends a year when the rest of us can have a go.
Gaping Gill is an underground cave so massive it could house St Paul’s Cathedral.
It is located halfway up Ingleborough (Yorkshire’s second highest peak) and only accessible by the best abseilers.
That is until the local cavers host winch meetings on the late-May and August bank holidays to allow anyone else to have a go – no experience required. Descents cost £15
per person.
Get totally wiped out
Remember Total Wipeout, the TV game show that pitted people against each other on ginormous inflatable obstacles over a lake?
Well now you can do the same at Sheffield Cable Waterski’s Aqua Park, which opened this month. The biggest in the country, it’s set on a lake in the pretty Rother Valley Country Park. Obstacles include a 27ft floating trampoline, a 9ft climbing wall and a giant ladder that leads to an equally giant slide.
Sessions at the park start from £15 per person.
Take a Dales trike tour
Billy Connolly fans take note – if you want a totally different way of seeing the Dales, jump on the back of a motorised Boom trike with Yorkshire Trike Tours.
Driver/owner Jason holds themed trips exploring the gorgeous countryside, including offerings based on the 2014 Tour de France route and James Herriot locations.
On the way, Jason offers expert commentary to two passengers on the back via Bluetooth headsets. Tours start from £50 per person.
Go llama trekking
So yes, the Yorkshire Dales are hilly, but they’re nothing like the Andes, which is what makes trekking with llamas past dry-stone walls and over farmland such a unique experience.
They aren’t strong enough to ride, so a trek is a little more like taking your llama for a long walk.
Don’t believe all you read – they don’t spit at people, but there is a gentle hum as they go about their business following you uphill and down dale. Treks start from £30 per person.
Find out about fossils
Tim Barber is a rare breed, an approved Blue Badge guide who specialises in tours around Yorkshire.
His private Fossils And Sea Monsters tours start in Scarborough before exploring the Jurassic Coast and discovering dinosaur fossils that are more than 150 million years old.
Once you know what to look for, there’s the chance to scour the cliffs and see if you can find your own fossils.
The half-day tours are taken in his 4x4 and include pick up, drop off and snacks. Tim’s tours start from £300 for four people.
For these and more Yorkshire adventures, see .