Kingsdale is a valley on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in northern England. The name Kingsdale derives from a combination of Old Norse and

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

(''Kyen'' and ''Dael'') which means ''The valley where the cows were kept''. Humans were active in Kingsdale from 6,700 BC onwards. Evidence of fire-pits used by hunter-gatherers have been found in the dale. The larger part of the valley lies within the county of North Yorkshire but its highest reaches fall just within Cumbria. It is defined by the hills of Whernside to its east and

Gragareth Gragareth is a mountain straddling the border between Lancashire and North Yorkshire in England. At , its summit is the second highest point in the post- 1974 county of Lancashire. The highest point in modern Lancashire is Green Hill (one metr ...

to its west. Kingsdale is drained by the south-westward flowing Kingsdale Beck which assumes the name

River Twiss The River Twiss is a river in the county of Yorkshire, England. The source of the river is Kingsdale Beck which rises at Kingsdale Head at the confluence of Back Gill and Long Gill in the Yorkshire Dales. Beneath Keld Head, it changes its name ...

before joining the

River Doe The River Doe is a river in North Yorkshire, England. The river's source is near God's Bridge close to the settlement of Chapel-le-Dale and flows through Twisleton in a south-westerly direction to Ingleton, where it meets the River Twiss to fo ...

Ingleton Ingleton may refer to: * Ingleton, County Durham * Ingleton, North Yorkshire {{geodis ...

to become the River Greta. The single minor public road which serves the valley is followed by the

Yorkshire Dales Cycle Way Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. There are several nationally important caves within the valley (such as

Rowten Pot Rowten Pot is one of several entrances into the long cave system that drains Kingsdale in North Yorkshire, England. Its entrance is a shaft some long, wide, and at the southern end deep. Description A stream enters from just below the surfa ...

and

Yordas Cave Yordas Cave is a solutional cave in Kingsdale, North Yorkshire, England. It has been renowned since the eighteenth century as a natural curiosity, and was a show cave during the nineteenth century. It is now a popular destination for cavers, wa ...

) and the impressive

resurgence Resurgence may refer to: *Resurgence (spring), spring discharge, where water comes from the ground *Resurgence (pest) of (usually agricultural) pests, due for example, to the misuse of pesticides *Resurgence (Dutch Revolt), the period between 157 ...

Keld Head Keld may refer to: * Keld, Cumbria, England *Keld, North Yorkshire, England *Variation of Kjell (name), a Danish given name * KELD (AM), a radio station (1400 AM) licensed to El Dorado, Arkansas, United States * KELD-FM KELD-FM (106.5 MHz) is ...

References

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External links

Video of the flash flooding of one of the rivers in Kingsdale after heavy rains
Craven District Valleys of North Yorkshire Valleys of Cumbria Yorkshire Dales {{Craven-geo-stub