Rumbling Hole, Leck Fell

Rumbling Hole on Leck Fell in the Yorkshire Dales, Lancashire.
The entrance shaft to the amazing Rumbling Hole descends to a depth of 50m / 160ft. In 1888, Balderstones described their first sight of this sinister but remarkably beautiful pothole in the book, Ingleton, Bygone and Present, "We felt spellbound for the moment, and quite unmatched in our cave hunting attire for the felicitous loveliness before us. . . In the tables of memory we set it down, that others might revel in what so delighted us, accustomed as we have been both from youth and observation to such scenes." He then went on to describe the rich flora that adorns the entrance, "There lay an abysmal gulf most certainly, but its head was festooned with long and trailing, or rather pendant locks of ivy. One could have wished to have been so beauteously enwreathed. The verge was adorned with holly, hawthorn, and bilberry, whilst rocks and ledges were carpeted with moss, polypody, blechnum, and oxalis". The name, Rumbling Hole originated from the strange sounds that can be heard from the depths as a waterfall tumbles into the pothole from Rumbling Beck Cave. Again from Balderstones, "Tap tap tap comes slowly from the distant depths; this is the home of the gnomes or fairies; they are at work below in their workshop, and a far-off hammering can be heard. Leave them in peace!"