We started our little trip in Settle and
decided to walk the Settle Loop, which is a walk you can find the map for
online that takes you past two waterfalls and a number of caves near Settle.
The entire walk is about 9 miles.
After climbing over a stile, we headed through
Scaleber Wood, where the trees were just beginning to turn. You don’t have to
walk far before you can hear the noise from the waterfall, and you can see it
if you peer over the edge. Not being great with heights, I was pleased that you
could walk down some steps to the foot of the waterfall, where you are
greeted with a much better view.
With Scalebar only a short walk from the roadside where you could park, a few people were already there (including the usual massive camera people), but we still had the chance to admire the 40ft waterfall.
With Scalebar only a short walk from the roadside where you could park, a few people were already there (including the usual massive camera people), but we still had the chance to admire the 40ft waterfall.
Leaving Scaleber, we headed back along the road
and turned right onto the footpath. Taking the next left, the path takes you
through a field of cows before the first caves come into view. We stopped for a
picnic on some of the rocks overlooking the caves.
Inside the several caves along the walk,
prehistoric remains have been found. The earliest fossils are 130,000 years old
and include mammoths, straight-tusked elephants, cave bears and hyenas. The one
that we climbed up to was called Victoria Cave, which was named as such because
the inner chamber of the cave was discovered on the day of Queen Victoria’s
accession to the throne in 1837. Venturing inside, you can see water trickling
down the walls.
Jubilee cave is tiny in comparison – so small that
we nearly missed it! You can turn left to walk to Catrigg Force and complete
the loop or head back into the town. We walked back to Settle, and from the path
down, you have a view of the entire town, including the trains going
past from the station.
