How Stean Gorge

How Stean Gorge is a limestone gorge in Nidderdale in North Yorkshire, England. It forms a unit of the Upper Nidderdale Site of Special Scientific Interest.[1] The gorge lies between the villages of Stean and Lofthouse and extends for about a kilometre along the course of How Stean Beck, a tributary of the River Nidd.

The limestone here is an inlier in the millstone grit which prevails on the surface in Nidderdale. It is a subaerial gorge, some 15 to 20 metres deep, to which a series of vadose caves drain, a reversal of the usual pattern of underwater capture in a karst landscape.[2]

One of the side caves, Tom Taylor's Cave, is said to be named after a local highwayman who sought refuge there. It leads from the north side of the gorge and emerges in a nearby field.[3]

The gorge and Tom Taylor's Cave have been operated as a tourist attraction since the 19th century.[4] The attraction now offers gorge walks and access to the cave, and also canyoning and a via ferrata.

References
  1. "Upper Nidderdale citation sheet" (PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  2. "Nidderdale Caves". Geological Conservation Review. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  3. "Tom Taylor's Cave". The Yorkshire Dales website. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  4. Speight, Harry (1894). Nidderdale and the Garden Of The Nidd, A Yorkshire Rhineland. pp. 487–489. ISBN 978-1104454869.

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