Black Reef Cave Trip Log: Pitch Previews, Route Descriptions & Video. [ Cave Info ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk) [Cave Directory](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/caves) [Interactive Cave Map](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/cave-map) [About](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/about) Yorkshire Dales - Three Peaks / RibbleheadBlack Reef Cave =============== A short, well decorated cave. Wetsuit or thick fleece under suit required, you're getting a good soaking! Grade 3 Routes Completed 0 Visits 1 SRT Cave? No Access Call At House Access Land (CRoW) refers to land where you have a right to roam on foot. In caving, this often means the entrance is located on such land. [ ![Black Reef Cave - View of entrance from inside cave](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/143/conversions/01M21EYD61YBPZ93Q9FP47PH15-optimised.webp) ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/143/conversions/01M21EYD61YBPZ93Q9FP47PH15-optimised.webp) [ ![Black Reef Cave - Black Reef Cave - Entrance view](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/142/conversions/01M21ER2Z4BTKK76SS6ZEACQ03-thumb.webp) ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/142/conversions/01M21ER2Z4BTKK76SS6ZEACQ03-optimised.webp) [ ![Black Reef Cave - Black Reef Cave - Formations](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/144/conversions/01M23WSR8XTJ00JGCPBQHM77YP-thumb.webp) ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/144/conversions/01M23WSR8XTJ00JGCPBQHM77YP-optimised.webp) [ ![Black Reef Cave - Black Reef Cave - Stream passage](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/145/conversions/01M23Z88GCTGP2RVE4DP45K8DP-thumb.webp) ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/145/conversions/01M23Z88GCTGP2RVE4DP45K8DP-optimised.webp) [ ![Black Reef Cave - Black Reef Cave - Straw formations](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/148/conversions/01M241A6G2AKMG8HBVXDCZEPC2-thumb.webp) ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/148/conversions/01M241A6G2AKMG8HBVXDCZEPC2-optimised.webp) - Directions / Parking - Routes - Visits - Videos - Weather Directions and Parking ---------------------- About 20 mins walk Around 0.26 miles / 0.42 KM Satnav: ### Parking There's plenty of parking spaces, however there's also plenty of people who come here for walks. I'd suggest getting there for 9:30AM if you want a choice of parking spots! The first lay-by is on your left and its also the closest one to Black Reef Cave and also Katnot Cave. If this is full there are loads more further down the road, but it does make the walk over to Black Reef a bit further. [ ![Black Reef Cave - Parking area - Image credit Google Maps](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/147/conversions/01M24038WH8VQ06W2P6CCCD5W6-thumb.webp) ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/147/conversions/01M24038WH8VQ06W2P6CCCD5W6-optimised.webp) ### Walking There's a fence set between the stone wall opposite the first parking lay by as you come down Blear Moor Lane on the left. (The viaduct will be in front on your right in the distance). There's a small lamp post with a solar panel / camera right next to it. Enter through the gate, making sure to close it behind you as there are sheep in the field. Now you want to turn to your 10 o'clock and look for another gate set between the stone wall on your left, again make sure you close this on after you too. Once through the gate, you want to turn to your right and walk about 300m across the fields and down. You'll eventually see a disused farm building in the distance. You can just follow the stone wall all the way down until you reach the Battywife Beck. At this point turn left and follow it along. Keep going straight once it veers off to the right. There's the remains of a stone wall if you need a landmark. If you find yourself at a small footbridge, you've gone too far, but don't worry you're really close. Turn back around and it's about 40m in the opposite direction. [ ![Black Reef Cave - Walking starting point](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/141/conversions/01M1W63ZG864CAP3VGYFPNDJWQ-thumb.webp) ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/141/conversions/01M1W63ZG864CAP3VGYFPNDJWQ-optimised.webp) [ ![Black Reef Cave - View of the stone building from cave entrance](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/146/conversions/01M23ZF5P181BN8MKXAF47N9JK-thumb.webp) ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/storage/146/conversions/01M23ZF5P181BN8MKXAF47N9JK-optimised.webp) ### Interactive Map The map shows the walking route and parking spots. You can also download the data in GPX and KML, which you can then import into OS Maps. [ Download GPX ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/caves/black-reef-cave/directions/gpx) [ Download KML ](https://www.caveinfo.co.uk/caves/black-reef-cave/directions/kml) Route Descriptions ------------------ No survey routes recorded for this system yet. My Visits --------- Caving journal### 12 October 2025 Personal rating ★★★★ 4/5 Party 7 people Time Underground 0h 45m Walk To Entrance 0h 15m Total outing 1h 00m Conditions Sunny - 18 degrees in October! Would do again? Yes #### Trip profile Navigation 1/5 Tightness 3/5 Exposure 1/5 Water 4/5 Physical 3/5 #### Notes We did Black Reef Cave as the last cave of the day, First was Roger Kirk, after that Katnot and finally Black Reef. After going for an impromptu swim in the River Ribble on the way over to Katnot, we were throughly soaked through. Just as well as the entrance passage in Black Reef quickly gets deep, and by deep i mean chest deep! I'm 5ft 9 for reference, so if you're smaller, you might be swimming! Fortunately it's not for long, but you might want to empty those wellies after, heavy feet can zap your energy much quicker! It goes without saying that the weather needs to be good days before and during as the entrance can easily flood, so be careful. The cave had a lot of narrow stream passage to navigate, which was nice and easy, a lot of it was full of water. There's also a fair bit of crawling which I'm always a fan of. About half way through, there was a little cascade on the right hand side which consisted of a fair bit of crawling, which eventually came to an end. The thing that struck me most about this place was the colours, lots of black on the cave walls, which i assume is where it gets its name from. We were probably in there for about 45 minutes, so a fairly short trip. However, with this being the 3rd cave of the day, I was shattered and ready to go home! Videos for Black Reef Cave -------------------------- Rainfall report for Black Reef Cave ----------------------------------- This uses Environment Agency rainfall data from the real-time data API (Beta) and is provided for reference only. Please note the **“Distance from cave”** metric, as measurements are often several miles from the cave. Always check local forecasts and confirm the cave is safe to enter before going. Instrument Type Tipping Bucket Rainguage Distance from cave Approx: 0.77 miles Location of instrument 54.217501 -2.333500 Latest Reading 0mm at 12/10/2026 15:00:00 Met Office forecast### Weather forecast Yesterday through the next 6 days #### Sun 11 Oct 2026 High / low 11°C / 9°C Wind 4 mph Rain chance Day 9% Night 50% Heavy rain Day 0% Night 25% #### Mon 12 Oct 2026 High / low 16°C / 13°C Wind 5 mph Rain chance Day 52% Night 93% Heavy rain Day 31% Night 92% #### Tue 13 Oct 2026 High / low 16°C / 13°C Wind 9 mph Rain chance Day 95% Night 35% Heavy rain Day 94% Night 22% #### Wed 14 Oct 2026 High / low 15°C / 12°C Wind 8 mph Rain chance Day 35% Night 65% Heavy rain Day 19% Night 45% #### Thu 15 Oct 2026 High / low 16°C / 12°C Wind 7 mph Rain chance Day 89% Night 78% Heavy rain Day 87% Night 76% #### Fri 16 Oct 2026 High / low 12°C / 9°C Wind 6 mph Rain chance Day 8% Night 3% Heavy rain Day 5% Night 1% #### Sat 17 Oct 2026 High / low 12°C / 9°C Wind 3 mph Rain chance Day 2% Night 3% Heavy rain Day 0% Night 1% ### More Caves Cave #176#### Sell Gill Holes (Dry) A popular choice for people wanting to get their SRT stripes. 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