Overview
- The collapsed limestone gorge in Wharfedale is billed as an atmospheric short hike that is tucked just off the road and easy to miss.
- Folklore casts the site as home to a Barghest, a large dog with glowing eyes viewed as a death omen in local tales.
- One oft-told story features John Lambert of Skirethorns, who allegedly boasted in a pub before a rumored fatal encounter on his way home.
- An early printed reference appears in 1827 through John Henry Dixon’s poem in William Hone’s Table Book, giving the legend literary footing.
- About 15 minutes from New Road parking, walkers encounter the disused Gill Heads Mine, unused since the early 1980s with a gated, rockfall‑obstructed entrance that visitors are urged not to enter.