Address: B6265, Greenhow Hill, Pateley Bridge, Harrogate HG3 5JL, United Kingdom
Phone: +441756752780
Rating: 4.7
based on 482 reviews.
Cavern Experience
Pros:
"Everytime we go down the cave its awesome."
"The caves are ace very informative and well lit."
"The caves themselves are amazing and a lot of fun to explore with younger children."
"The caves are very well lighted and not claustrophobic at all."
"You get to explore the caves in your own time which is great."
"The cave itself is very interesting due to the natural formation (+ effective lighting) and the exploration activities for the children."
"The caverns were out of this world..beautiful,astonishing,safely lit up and signed as well as beautifully maintained."
Cons:
"Need to manage a few flights of stairs up and down to the caves proper."
"The decent into the cavern is by a steep set of steps, about 60 in total. Once down, the tunnels are narrow with low ceilings."
"I have a bad back and some places caused me a bit of grief as the ceilings are so low."
"The caves do have low headroom in many places. Anyone over about 4ft 6in will have to duck."
"Not really ideal for people who struggle with claustrophobia or a bad back, as there are narrow walkways and you have to stoop/crouch to go along a small handful of paths."
"Some parts of the cave is quite low and you will have to bend down to walk through. Not suitable for people with weak knees."
"Have to crouch low in a few places, not a huge issue."
Staff and Service
Pros:
"Staff were nice and friendly."
"All the staff are welcoming and friendly."
"Lovely friendly staff who provide you with a hard hat and a torch so you can see greater detail in the rocks."
"The staff were super helpful and friendly."
"The young woman who dealt with us was friendly and pleasant and took just the right line with the children."
"Nick, Lisa and Lisa's son are all so friendly, knowledgeable and passionate."
"The staff were very friendly and informative."
Cons:
"Instead of sitting down in the theatre to view an introduction and history of the caves we had to endure a 15 minute talk from a guy who was clearly passionate about the caves, however whilst it was mildly informative to the adults, my 4 year old boys weren't so impressed and quickly became irritated."
"Unfortunately a certain hotel inspector encouraged the owners to reduce the menu and it's a bit more basic than it used to be."
"Just a shame all of the tables were reserved in the cafe/restaurant, surely first come first served would be far fairer?"
"There is no wheelchair access to the building and a lot of steep steps inside to get to the toilets."
Facilities and Amenities
Pros:
"If you are planning to visit the caves and are travelling in a motorhome or caravan then there is cheap overnight stay (£5 I believe on condition you buy a ticket for the caves) which could be a handy bonus especially if you were going there anyway."
"Cafe and gift shop at place."
"Parking is free."
"The café is very cosy and has a super selection of home-made dishes and sweets and local beer."
"Some gorgeous things in the shop at various prices. Some out of my humble price range, but many not."
"There is an outside play area for kids too."
"Free big car park."
Cons:
"We was unable to do the fossil dig on the same day as the cave tour due to the fossil dig being fully booked."
"The whole place is a little too geared towards kids."
"The only negative for us was the carpark, gravel and motorbikes really aren't nice together."
"No toilets for wheelchairs, but there is a baby change place."
"No toilets in a cave."
"The caves are only for the able bodied unfortunately."
"And it can also get wet down there."
Food and Dining
Pros:
"The food was excellent."
"Really tasty food and reasonably priced."
"The food was good (we both had a very good pie and chips, followed by a delicious biscoff cheesecake)."
"Food was excellent and they had a great range of beers from Richmond Brewing."
"The cafe food was fantastic and very reasonably priced."
"Food was fantastic, Mrs loved the fish and chips and I really enjoyed the stump cross burger."
"Great food at the café - it's obvious that high quality local produce is used."
Cons:
"Cafe looked smart and the food looked good but we didn't eat there as already eaten."
"The food used to be amazing but it's still very good quality/well priced food."
"The food looked very appetizing and was reasonably priced."
"Because I banged my head at least 10 times."
Value for Money
Pros:
"If you are going with a campervan or motorhome, you can park overnight (5pm to 10am) in the carpark for just 5 pounds."
"So many incentives for the children... you absolutely get your money's worth...and more!"
"All in all, well worth the visit and definitely not expensive."
Cons:
"But the ticket prices sounded expensive (£45 for a family of 4)."
"Price wise, i think £14 per adult, (cave entry), is a little steep."
Family and Children Activities
Pros:
"The caves were fabulous, we were given quizzes to do and at the end you handed your quiz in and got a prize."
"They do several little treasure hunts for the kids too that keeps them entertained."
"The fairy door hunt & dinosaur egg hunt kept our grandchildren entertained."
"Kids really enjoyed the quiz trails and the nice prizes at the end."
"The kids had loads of fun panning for gems."
"A treasure hunting guide for kids is also available."
"The addition of the UV light made the experience really enthralling seeing the different veins and shapes not normally visible."
Cons:
"The whole place is a little too geared towards kids."
"Went back with my grandchildren and was less so."