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Address Yorkshire Dales National Park, Appletreewick, Harrogate HG3 5JL, UK Similar Parcevall Hall, Grimwith Reservoir, Stump Cross Caverns, Buckden Pike, Great Whernside | ||
Troller's Gill is a limestone gorge, close to the village of Appletreewick and 4.7 miles (7.5 km) south east of Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales (grid reference SE068619). The gorge, which is 0.5 miles (0.8 km) in length, is also known as Trollerdale.
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Description
The gorge is named after the supposed existence of trolls who used to live there. A survey conducted in the reign of Edward II of England listed it as being Gordale in Appletreewick. Speight suggests that this is of Danish influence from the word geir; a triangular piece of land that ends in a chasm.
Skyreholme Beck flows through the gorge, but for most of the year the stream bed is dry with the water flowing underground. The Gill is also the location of an old lead and later fluorspar mine which was last worked in the 1960s.
Legends
Legend has it that the Gill is the home of the mythical monstrous black dog Barghest who can turn one to stone with a look. It has also been suggested by some that the Barghest story was a major influence on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when he was penning The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Local folklore declared that trolls lived in the gorge (hence its name) and would push stones down from the deep sides to people travelling up and down the gorge.
Roger and the Rottentrolls is a fictional children's television program which takes the name of its setting from Troller's Gill; however, filming took place at Brimham Rocks, a short distance away.