Lydford Gorge

Lydford Gorge is on the edge of Dartmoor and is not, strictly speaking, underground. However because it is a very deep chasm and so very beautiful I am including it.

Although it has nothing to do with the gorge there are details of Lydford Castle elsewhere on this site.

The gorge is one and a half miles long with an entrance at each end. A short but steep path leads to the fast flowing waters of the River Lyd. The footpath crosses the stream and the ravine then narrows. If you continue on you have to walk on slippery timber planks that are supported by freely swinging chains, and then you reach the Devil's Cauldron. From this platform you can look right down into the Cauldron itself.

 Along the route is the tallest waterfall on Dartmoor, the White Lady. Which drops 100 feet. It is named from the ghostly women in white sometimes seen beside water.

This fall has it's own ghost, an old lady called Kitty who has a kerchief tied round her head. A pool at the bottom of the steps is known as Kit's steps as this is where she is seen. A different story says that a different Kitty once tried to jump the gorge, at this place, on horseback. The horse made it safely across but Kitty got tangled up in the trees and was stranded there for several days before her body was found.