Gaping Gill Winch Meet 11th to 18th August 2023 - Friday to Friday
Correction!! - The 2023 dates will be 11th to 18th August NOT 12th - 19th as previously shown
Please note that the winch will NOT be operating over the Bank Holiday weekend
The extensive system of caves 100 metres under this moorland are only accessible to cavers except for a week in May (with Bradford Pothole Club) and a week in August (with Craven Pothole Club) when these caves are made accessible by a winch. During the CPC Winch meet other entrances will be rigged with rope and visiting cavers are invited to use these.
Opening Times
Weather permitting, the winch will operate for descents by members of the public from 9.00am each weekday (8.00am at weekends). If we have to close the winch for any reason, our Twitter and Facebook pages will give notice. A sign will also be displayed at Ingleborough Cave.
The winch has a fixed capacity of approx. twenty descents/ascents per hour, which can result in extended waiting times during busy periods. We are not able to take advance bookings.
Book as soon as you arrive at Gaping Gill by visiting the tent next to the winch. You will be issued with a numbered wrist band and advised of your approximate descent time.
Descent fee - £20 per person
This page is part of the CPC's information for August 2022 and includes information about how to find us and how busy we are (there are links top right, but there is more information if you scroll on down this page).
Or download our Gaping Gill 2023 information sheet
Visitors FAQ
Walking up to Gaping Gill
You can walk from Clapham (LA2 8EQ) to the cave entrance in about 11/2 hr along a well marked but rough path. On the way up you will pass the entrance to Ingleborough Show Cave. This separate attraction (well worth visiting) has no connection with the Gaping Gill Winch Meet / Caving Clubs.
Visiting the Main Chamber
There can be long waits and although you cannot book in advance once you have booked in you can explore Ingleborough rather than having to wait at the entrance. When it is busy or there is very heavy rain (which makes the descent unpleasant) and the chair does not run, we will try to make information available in Clapham and on the Twitter feed.
Local information
There are plenty of places to stay locally and Clapham has an excellent community shop. In 2016 Yorkshire hosted EuroSpeleo - the largest cave conference in Europe (only held every few years). Over 700 cavers from across Europe visited Gaping Gill. You can see some of what brought them here.
The Craven Pothole Club
The CPC is a long established Dales Caving Club (est. 1929), with its base in Horton. If you are interested in starting to cave / joining us, talk to our members at the booking in tent or visit our web site. The main site has more information about Gaping Gill (We've been visting these caves for 85 years).
