Into the Valley of the Trolls |
Trollers Gill (also known as Trollerdale) is a narrow limestone gorge and stream valley located to the north of Appletreewick village, seven miles to north-east of Skipton.
Beneath the hills to the north of Trollers Gill there is a large subterranean cave system known as Stump Cross Caverns. A stream emerges from those caves and flows down to Trollers Gill. When the stream (called Dry Gill) enters the north end of the ravine it once again sinks underground, leaving the stream bed dry below that point. This dry section continues down through the gorge to emerge at its southern end, where the waters then reappear amongst the rocks in the stream bed. From this point on the stream winds its way down the valley, passing Trollers Gill cave, and flowing on to eventually join the River Wharfe, a mile or so to the south. For most of the year the dry stream bed through the ravine is just a jumble of rocks and boulders, but after heavy rains the underground channel cannot carry all the water, so the stream forms a fast flowing torrent down the whole length of the gorge. This unusual phenomena, occurring within the atmospheric setting of the narrow gorge, is perhaps one reason why Trollers Gill has long been regarded as an 'uncanny' place.