Gaping Gill Public Winch Meet 14th to 21st August 2026 - Friday to Friday
Please note that the winch will NOT be operating over the Bank Holiday weekend
Opening Times (provisional)
Friday August 14th: first descent at 09:00 am.
Saturday August 15th to Sunday August 16th: First descent at 08:00 am.
Monday August 17th to Friday August 21st inclusive: First descent at 09:00 am.
Descent Fee: £30 per person (and return!).
Minimum Age - The minimum age is 7 years.
Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
The Weight limit is a maximum of 127kg / 20 stone.
Booking - Craven Pothole Club are using a new system for arranging public descents during our August Winch Meet.
There will be advance booking *ONLY*. Unlike previous years it will not be possible to arrive at the shake-hole and book a descent.
Descents are £30 per person including Access to the Nature Trail.
A maximum of 6 tickets per booking per day.
If there is a delay or cancellation due to adverse weather conditions on the day of your attendance, then the following will apply:
An alternative day or time will be offered should one be available. If a suitable alternative or capacity is not available and the adverse weather restrictions have not been lifted, then a refund will be given.
Should a delay occur due to a mechanical problem or any other event outside of the CPC’s control then the CPC will try to rearrange your descent for an alternative date, if no suitable date or capacity can be found, then a refund will be given.
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
Allow at least 1.5 to 2 hours for the walk, depending on fitness. Late arrivals may miss their slot. The CPC Day Leader may try to rearrange your descent if capacity allows, but this is not guaranteed and may involve a long wait.. 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).
