This circular walk to Attermire Scar, Victoria Cave and Jubilee Cave from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales takes approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes.
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| Walk title: | Attermire Scar, Victoria Cave and Jubilee Cave walk from Settle |
| Author: | Andrew Forrest - December 2022 |
| Walk start point: | Marketplace in the centre of Settle (grid reference SD 819 636). / What3words: hamsters.skewing.nutty |
| Parking: | Various car parks/parking in Settle. The directions box below is to the nearest public car park about 100m away. |
| Directions to nearest parking place: | Google Maps: get directions here / What3words: beaten.apple.hoping |
| Walk distance: | 7.0 km |
| Estimated walk time: | 2 hours 15 minutes |
| Height climbed: | 362 metres |
| Technical difficulty: | Moderate - as determined by our interpretation of the Ordnance Survey guidance on technical difficulties |
| Peaks / summits: | None |
| Map: | Ordnance Survey - Explorer OL2 (Yorkshire Dales - Southern & Western Area) Buy this map from Ordnance Survey |
| GPS/GPX file: | Download here |
| Facilities / refreshments: | Many pubs, restaurants and cafés in Settle - check out the walk video for further details |
| Nearest town: | Walk starts in Settle |
| Local accommodation: | View accommodation close to the start of this walk from Sykes Holiday Cottages or Holidaycottages.co.uk |
Estimated walk time
Walk time estimates used are from the Ordnance Survey mapping app, which uses a refined Naismith's rule, adjusted by OS overlaying their own data collected from more than one million people using the OS mapping app. Naismith's rule allowed one hour for every three miles walked and added pro-rata an additional hour for every 2000ft of ascent - roughly one hour for every 5km, plus one hour for every 600m of ascent.
Ordnance Survey Mapping App
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This circular walk to Attermire Scar, Victoria Cave and Jubilee Cave from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales takes approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes. The walk climbs out of Settle along the Dales Highway and passes by Attermire Scar, an impressive limestone cliff. It's then on to visit two caves (Victoria and Jubilee) before returning through pleasant fields back to Settle.
This full Attermire Scar, Victoria Cave and Jubilee Cave walk from Settle is shown in the video and the route for the walk is shown on the Ordnance Survey map - both above. Below is a brief description of the walk.
There is a range of parking in Settle, but rather than starting from a car park, today's walk starts from the marketplace in the centre of Settle, where every Tuesday there is a market held in the marketplace, which was granted its charter back in 1249 by Henry III.
Marketplace in Settle
Constitution Hill in Settle
Initially, head over to the corner of the marketplace by the Settle Marketplace signpost and then head away from the marketplace up Constitution Hill. Following the road, go up and then around to the left.
Shortly afterwards, a gravel track heads right off the road. Take this gravel track, following the Pennine Bridleway 'Langcliffe 1½m' sign.
Gravel track heading right off the road
Walled lane
Head on now climbing up this gravelled walled track. Looking back you can see around to Settle and the surrounding areas. Pass through the next gate and keep on alongside the wall.
Looking back over Settle
A little further on just past a wall junction, we turn right away from the wall to head up the hill, following the Malham '5miles' footpath sign.
Malham footpath sign pointing up the hill
After a short climb, we turn left along the more defined path that we meet, to head diagonally away from the wall. As the path becomes less steep, take time to look behind at the expanded panorama.
Continue heading up the grassy path as it pulls into the right-hand side of the wall.
After a few hundred metres as a wall is reached, pass through the gate stile and then continue again along the side of the wall. Shortly afterwards, the path forks. It doesn't matter which path you take as they meet by the next wall crossing. We'll head down the left for today.
Down below to the right, you can see the other footpath if we'd have taken the right arm fork that comes to join us shortly. Pass through the gap in the wall as we meet that path.
Directly ahead now is Attermire Scar and then around to the left are Warrendale Knotts.
Attermire Scar
Head downhill keeping by the left-hand side of the wall, passing over the wooden stile and continuing on alongside the wall.
As more stones start to appear in the grassy path underfoot, the path splits. Take the left-hand fork here, following the stony path that bends around to the left.
After a short climb, the path pulls in alongside the wall.
On reaching the wooden gate in the wall, pass through it and turn left to follow the gravel path that now runs along the right-hand side of the wall.
Gate to pass through the wall
Before setting off, take time to have a look around and admire the limestone scenery.
The grassy path eventually pulls into a wall corner. We head around the corner and continue along the side of the wall.
Pass through this next wooden gate and again continue on by the side of the wall.
After about 150 metres, you'll see a sketchy path heading up to the right. If you want to visit Victoria Cave, we can take a short detour up this path to reach it.
Sketchy path heading up right to Victoria Cave
Entrance to Victoria Cave
Victoria Cave was discovered in 1837 and named after the then-Queen Victoria. Take great care though if you go near it, as it's uneven and rocks may fall. There used to be a sign asking people not to enter the cave, but I didn't see it on this visit.
The large entrance of this cave was opened later to lead to the main excavated chamber. Many artefacts have been found in this cave, along with fossilized bones of elephants and hippos from over 120,000 years ago, from a time when this area was much warmer with global warming.
This additional height gained by the cave does let us enjoy a wider panorama of the surrounding countryside.
View from Victoria Cave
Head back down now diagonally right to re-join the path we left by the side of the wall.
On the way down to the path on the right-hand side, there's another entrance to a cave.
Continue on along the gravel path by the side of the wall.
Upon reaching the next wall, pass through the wooden gate and head down the path to meet the track below. The way back to Settle is left here through this gate, which we will return to shortly. First, we'll head right, up the track to Jubilee Cave. After about 150 metres as the track bends around to the left and disappears over the horizon, there is a sketchy path off to the right that takes us to the cave. Here we arrive at the two entrances to Jubilee Cave.
Entrances to Jubilee Cave
Jubilee Cave was named for the Silver Jubilee of George V in 1935. If you do decide to go in the cave, make sure you take great care as the ground is very uneven and again, rocks can fall at any time. As with Victoria Cave, there did used to be a sign asking people not to enter, but wasn't there on this visit.
Turn around now and head back down the hill to the track below and turn left to the gate that we were by earlier.
Pass through the gate and head along the track. If you stop and look around now to the left you can see back over to Attermire Scar, where we have just been in Victoria Cave, and then looking further around in the distance you can see Pen-y-ghent on the horizon.
Keep on heading down the track as you pull in alongside the wooded area directly ahead. Now you can see Ingleborough ahead and around to the right, looking a little bit closer now is Pen-y-ghent.
View towards Ingleborough
Pass over the cattle grid and head down to meet the road below.
On meeting the road, turn immediately left through a wooden gate following the Pennine Bridleway sign '2 miles to Settle'.
Settle '2 mile' sign pointing through the gate
Head around the corner of the wall and then follow the path across the field.
Pass through the gap in the walls and continue along the path to pass through another wooden gate and again follow the path across the field.
Passing through the gap in the walls
Heading across the field back to Settle
Reaching the next gate, pass through it and continue ahead on the left-hand side of the wall. Over to the right you can see down into Langcliffe and then on to Settle.
The path eventually becomes enclosed by walls on both sides.
Path enclosed by walls heading towards Settle
Pass through the wooden gate to continue again along the left-hand side of the wall. Up to the left here, you may now recognize the path that you walked up at the start of the walk over to Attermire Scar. We're going to follow the reverse path now, back into Settle.
Pass back through the wooden gate to head back down the enclosed path.
Heading back down the walled path
At the bottom of the gravel track, turn left back onto the road down Constitution Hill and head back down into the marketplace where you first started the walk.
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