Yordas Cave — Attraction in Thornton in Lonsdale

It's open for professionals and there is ticket or management at the site. You have to be fully prepared and fully equipped to get in. The old show cave entrance is in a plantation of trees 100 metres (330 ft) from the road, at the base of a small cliff, at the bottom of a small gorge. A flight of three steps descend from the entrance archway into the Main Chamber, 55 metres (180 ft) long, and 15 metres (49 ft) wide. A stream flows across the floor, and disappears into some low passages to the left. Also on the left, a low passage can be followed for a few metres to the Back Door entrance in a shakehole. At the upstream end of the chamber two passages soon unite in the spray-lashed Chapter House chamber, where a 9-metre (30 ft) waterfall enters and the showcave ended. Above the waterfall, a passage leads to a junction, with the water flowing from a low 20-metre (66 ft) long passage which leads to the base of Yordas Pot, an alternative entrance with a 24-metre (79 ft) shaft. The water enters from a side fissure just below the lip of the shaft. Turning right at the junction leads to a climb, and then to two entrances in the upper gorge. The shafts are equipped with resin P-hangers allowing the cave to be descended and ascended using standard single rope techniques (SRT). The route from the gorge to the bottom entrance may also be descended using canyoning-style techniques, with the last person down a pitch pulling...

Lovely natural cave! Great for amateurs to go into the outer parts of it, all you need are waterproof boots and a good head torch (as there are no lights - or any facilities whatsoever!). A hard hat is sensible if you've got one, in case of falling stones - there are no tiny spaces though, generally there's lots of room to stand up. Inside the cave entrance is short slope down to the floor of a large, high cavern with a wide stream running through it, which you have to walk across to the rear of the cavern (across and to the right of the entrance as you go in) about 50-70 metres away. Here you'll find a couple of grottos, one of them is a tall cylinder grotto with an enormous waterfall thundering down into it - amazing! Well worth a visit.

Obviously do be careful as there is no protection anywhere, and don't go in alone, or without telling people where you've gone and when you'll be back. Also don't go in when there has been heavy rainfall, or it's forecast...

The cave entrance isn't easy to find, it's about 100m from the tiny tarmac road, on the left side of a small natural bowl. The entrance is roughly circular, about 4m across.

Be aware that you may see descriptions of an entry from above... Yes there is an entrance through the roof of the cave somewhere, but only for experienced climbers...

Stunning, remote and exciting. Take torches and headlights, it's very dark inside once you follow the short path down to the cave floor.

Follow this googlemapsmmarker. Park up on the side of the road, there are no signs, just a wooden gate. Go through that and then up the right hand track to another gate, the cave is through there, no more than 100m from the road.

The cave opens out to a large cavern with stalactites and flowstone on its walls. The floor is mostly large pebbles with flowing water between them. It's all solid and safe underfoot, but you're shoes might get wet.

With good torches and a helping hand on the large pebbles, you can follow the sound of falling water to the right hand side. Hidden behind a stone pillar is an opening, through it you are looking at a 15 or 20m high waterfall. It crashes down from high up in tall chamber into a clear pool. It's absolutely stunning and magical, but hidden in the darkness if you don't have light. Careful how you go, there's no sign how deep the water pool gets in the...