Warrendale Knotts and Attermire Scar

The scarps east of Settle rival any picture of the Dolomites. Vast columns of rock stand gaunt against the skyline, and in its shaded valleys, hill sheep regard the intruder with resentment and suspicion.

The geology is almost absurb. Warrendale Knotts is a dramatic cliff of shattered limestone crags along the Mid Craven Fault — the very fault responsible for Malham Cove and Gordale Scar. Behind, Attermire Scar stands guard over a steep, narrow valley. A valley not exactly drowning in folklore, but what it lacks in dragons it more than makes up for in ancient mystery¹Walk: Settle, Scaleber Force and Jubilee Cave. Explore Yorkshire. https://www.yorkshire.com/settle/walks/walk-settle-scaleber-force-and-jubilee-cave [Accessed 6 April 2026].

The star is Victoria Cave, tucked beneath Attermire Scar. It lay unknown until 1837, when tinsmith Michael Horner wormed through a small hole in search of his dog and found bones, coins, and metal objects. The bones were rather old. Excavators found remains 130,000 years old — hippo, rhino, elephant, spotted hyena. Yorkshire was, apparently, a warmer and considerably more alarming place back then²Attermire and the caves. A Bit About Britain. 29th July 2022. https://bitaboutbritain.com/attermire-and-the-caves/#:~:text=Excavators%20found%20bones%2C%20the%20oldest%20130%2C000%20years%20old%2C%20including%20those%20of%20hippo%2C%20rhino%2C%20elephant%20and%20spotted%20hyenas.%20The%20suggestion%20is%20that%20the%20cave%20was%20the%20hyenas%E2%80%99%20den%20and%20they%20dragged%20foraged%20pieces%20of%20other%20animals%20back%20to%20devour%20at%20leisure. [Accessed 6 April 2026].

Then things turn properly strange. Roman-period artefacts emerged from the clay — brooches, coins, broken spoons, combs, nail-cleaners. The broken state of the objects is the curious bit. Archaeologists believe the cave served as more than a storage place — it may have been a shrine. People do not generally smash their combs in a cupboard³Catrigg Force, Victoria Cave, Attermire Scar & Giggleswick Scar – Tuesday 1 March 2022. Masarnen Ramblers. https://www.masarnenramblers.com/catrigg-force-victoria-cave-attermire-scar–giggleswick-scar.html#:~:text=For%20archaeologists%2C%20the,sort%20of%20shrine. [Accessed 6 April 2026].

Attermire Cave itself, high on the scar, deepens the mystery. Romano-British artefacts appeared, along with the remains of a chariot burial. A shrine, some have speculated, given its height and sheer awkwardness to reach. Getting a chariot up there was no mean feat⁴Attermire Cave: the keyhole in the cliff. Yorkshire Dales National Park. https://dalesrocks.org.uk/ribblesdale/geological-processes/cave-formation/attermire-cave/ [Accessed 6 April 2026].

So there is no dragon, no sleeping king, no headless horseman. Just the rather unsettling sense that people have been leaving broken things in dark holes up here for two thousand years, for reasons nobody can quite explain. Which, if you ask me, is rather more interesting.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• 1
  Walk: Settle, Scaleber Force and Jubilee Cave. Explore Yorkshire. https://www.yorkshire.com/settle/walks/walk-settle-scaleber-force-and-jubilee-cave [Accessed 6 April 2026]
• 2
  Attermire and the caves. A Bit About Britain. 29th July 2022. https://bitaboutbritain.com/attermire-and-the-caves/#:~:text=Excavators%20found%20bones%2C%20the%20oldest%20130%2C000%20years%20old%2C%20including%20those%20of%20hippo%2C%20rhino%2C%20elephant%20and%20spotted%20hyenas.%20The%20suggestion%20is%20that%20the%20cave%20was%20the%20hyenas%E2%80%99%20den%20and%20they%20dragged%20foraged%20pieces%20of%20other%20animals%20back%20to%20devour%20at%20leisure. [Accessed 6 April 2026]
• 3
  Catrigg Force, Victoria Cave, Attermire Scar & Giggleswick Scar – Tuesday 1 March 2022. Masarnen Ramblers. https://www.masarnenramblers.com/catrigg-force-victoria-cave-attermire-scar–giggleswick-scar.html#:~:text=For%20archaeologists%2C%20the,sort%20of%20shrine. [Accessed 6 April 2026]
• 4
  Attermire Cave: the keyhole in the cliff. Yorkshire Dales National Park. https://dalesrocks.org.uk/ribblesdale/geological-processes/cave-formation/attermire-cave/ [Accessed 6 April 2026]