ELLIE SIMMONDS sees a whole new side to the Yorkshire Dales.

THINK about the Yorkshire Dales and chances are you’ll picture rolling hills, crumbly cheese and grazing sheep.

Less likely to spring to mind would be images of Queen Victoria’s bloomers, the Devil’s tongue and Damocles’ sword.

But it turns out the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales is not just above ground.

Below the dry stone walls and sheep-grazed fields lies a lesser known world dripping with a sense of the unexplored.

Or in the case of White Scar Cave perhaps not that unexplored, given the visitors’ café, paved footpaths and gift shop – and the clichéd names for the rock formations.

However to a cave novice like me it felt pretty wild and it was not without some trepidation that I donned my hard hat and ventured – quite literally – underground. The cave was everything I (with not so much as a GCSE in geography) had hoped for.

It had dark crevices, a slightly damp smell, a glinting waterfall and some weird and wonderful rock formations before opening up into a magnificent cavern with thousands of tiny shimmering pencil-thin stalactites.

Luckily I had a proper geologist with me to explain the cave’s history and its centuries of development.

I’m not sure Queen Victoria’s bloomers is the strictly correct scientific name for the ugly-yet-symmetrical rock formation dripping with water from an underground river, but it certainly helped it stick vividly in my memory.

Safely back above ground we were able to appreciate some of the ways in which mankind has moved on from his cave dwelling days from the comfort of our country house hotel.

Simonstone Hall is set on a bleak but beautiful hillside overlooking Wensleydale and the small market town of Hawes.

It is the perfect kind of place to return to after a day’s hiking, shooting or fishing and kick off your boots before a whisky or glass of red wine at the bar.

Not that you would know it from the hotel’s windswept and isolated outlook.

With just 18 bedrooms, a tartan-floored bar complete with wall mounted stags’ heads and a menu boasting fresh venison and steak it was like something out of a Miss Marple novel.

Far enough from Oxford to feel like a proper trip away, this part of Yorkshire is nonetheless within easy striking distance from both the M1 and the M6, making it perfect for a weekend retreat.

As well as our brief subterranean encounter, we also checked out the waterfalls made famous by Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Located at nearby Aysgarth, the series of three falls are spectacular, and trust me, you could be forgiven for whistling Bryan Adam’s haunting theme while wandering around them.

Simonstone Hall is probably not for those wanting a cheap break. But after two nights we headed back towards Oxford feeling well fed, rested and pampered.

We certainly saw a lot of rolling hills, crumbly cheese and plenty of grazing sheep. But, like many places, this part of Yorkshire gets even better if you scratch beneath the surface.

* Two nights’ dinner, bed and breakfast in a luxury or superior room for two at Simonstone Hall with afternoon tea on arrival is £400. (Offer valid until December 23, 2011).

A three-day Christmas break promising roaring fires, carol singing, mulled wine and much, much more costs from £565 per person.

Simonstone Hall, Hawes, North Yorkshire, DL8 3LY.

Call 01969 667255 Main picture: Ingleborough Cave; top, Simsonstone Hall; above, Ellie at Aysgarth Falls