Hole of Horcum
The Hole of Horcum is a section of the valley of the Levisham Beck, upstream of Levisham and Lockton, in the Tabular Hills of the North York Moors National Park in northern England.
Hole of Horcum | |
|---|---|
 Hole of Horcum from the North with flowering heather in the foreground, August 2017 | |
.svg.png.webp)  Hole of Horcum Location in North Yorkshire | |
| Coordinates: 54.331266°N 0.701168°W | |
| Grid position | SE845935 |
| Location | North Yorkshire, England |
Etymology
Early forms of the name include Hotcumbe, Holcumbe, Horcombe and Horkome. The first element of the name is Old English horh, meaning "filth," while the suffix, cumb, means "bowl-shaped valley", and is of Brittonic Celtic origin.[1][2]
The Hole
The hollow is 400 feet (120 m) deep and about ¾ mile (1.2 km) across. The Hole was created by a process called spring-sapping, where water welling up from the hillside gradually undermined the slopes above, eating the rocks away grain by grain. In this way, over thousands of years, a once narrow valley widened and deepened into an enormous cauldron. The process continues today.[3]
Legend
Local legend has it that the "Devil's Punchbowl"-type feature, the amphitheatre, was formed when Wade the Giant scooped up a handful of earth to throw at his wife during an argument.[3][4]
Panoramic view
References
- "Horcum, Hole of Horcum".
- "Urra".
- "Levisham Moor and the Hole of Horcum". North York Moors National Park. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- "The hero's hole, Hole of Horcum, North Yorkshire". The Guardian. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
