Toft Gate Lime Kiln

Toft Gate Lime Kiln is a largely intact piece of Nidderdale’s industrial heritage which sits two miles out of Pateley Bridge on Greenhow Hill. The Toft gate Lime Kiln structure visible from the car park is not the kiln itself, but the flu stack, which sits some way from the kiln to keep the fumes away from the workers. The long flue is still standing, and much of the Toft Gate Lime Kiln itself has been uncovered to show the scale of work carried out here. Limestone dug from the hill nearby was heated by fires in the kiln to produce quicklime for local agriculture through the 19th Century, but advances in industry and agriculture meant lime works had concentrated into a smaller number of large works, but this small local kiln remains as a reminder of local industry in the Dale. Dark Sky Discovery Site The Car park at Toft Gate Lime KIln is a Dark Sky Discovery Site, due to its incredibly Dark Skies and prominent position on the top of Greenhow hill, while the car park itself is close to the road there are a number of spots on the site a bit further away from the road.