Gaping Gill, often known as Gaping Ghyll, is one of the unmistakable landmarks on the mountain of Ingleborough in North Yorkshire, being a 105 metre deep pothole with the stream Fell Beck flowing into it. After falling through one of the largest known underground chambers in Britain, the water disappears into the bouldery floor and finally resurges out of Ingleborough Cave.
The first recorded attempted descent was by J. Birkbeck in 1842 who managed to reach a ledge approximately 55 metres (180 ft) down the shaft which now bears his name. The first completed descent was made by Édouard-Alfred Martel in 1895.
As a result of the number of entrances which connect into the cave, many different routes through and around the system are possible. Other entrances include the interestingly named Disappointment Pot, Stream Passage Pot, Bar Pot, Hensler's Pot, Corky's Pot, and Flood Entrance Pot. In 1983 members of the Cave Diving Group were able to make the underwater connection into Ingleborough Cave.
The Bradford Pothole Club, around Whitsun May Bank Holiday and the Craven Pothole Club, around August Bank Holiday each set up a winch above the shaft to provide rides to the bottom and back out again for any member of the public who buys a ticket.
An extreme rock-climb is possible up the main shaft which needs very dry conditions. It was first pioneered in 1972 with ten help points, and the first free ascent was made in 1988.
The shaft was thought for a long time to be the largest in Britain, until the existence of Titan in Derbyshire was publicised in 2006 after its discovery in 1999. Gaping Gill still retains the record for the tallest unbroken waterfall in England and the largest underground chamber which is naturally open to the surface.
