Kirkdale is a valley in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, which along with Sleightholmedale makes up the larger Bransdale

Bransdale

Bransdale is a valley running south through North Yorkshire, England, and part of the North York Moors National Park. Sandwiched between Bilsdale to the west and Farndale to the east, it is formed from the dales of Bransdale itself at the top of the valley, Sleightholmedale and Kirkdale...

 and carries the Hodge Beck from its moorland source near Cockayne

Cockayne, North Yorkshire

Cockayne is a hamlet and ridge in North Yorkshire, England.It is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Bransdale, in the North York Moors national park, near the village of Chop Gate The nearest towns are Helmsley and Kirkbymoorside The...

 to the River Dove

River Dove, North Yorkshire

The River Dove is a river the county of North Yorkshire, England, and is a tributary of the River Rye, itself a tributary of the River Derwent. It is the drainage basin of the moorland of Farndale, Stocksdale, Baysdale, Greenhow and Westerdale. It is formed by the confluence of Blakey Gill and West...

 and onto the River Rye

River Rye, Yorkshire

The River Rye is a river in the English county of North Yorkshire. It rises just south of the Cleveland Hills, east of Osmotherley, and flows through Hawnby, Rievaulx, Helmsley, Nunnington, West and East Ness, Butterwick, Brawby, and Ryton, before joining the River Derwent at near Malton.On some...

 in the Vale of Pickering

Vale of Pickering

The Vale of Pickering is a low-lying flat area of land in North Yorkshire, England. It is drained by the River Derwent. The landscape is rural with scattered villages and small market towns. It has been inhabited continuously from the Mesolithic period...

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Corallian Limestone

Corallian Limestone

Corallian Limestone is a coralliferous sedimentary rock, laid down in Jurassic times. It is a hard variety of "coral rag". Building stones from this geological structure tend to be irregular in shape. It is often found close to seams of Portland Limestone...

 which outcrops on the hills surrounding the Vale of Pickering

Vale of Pickering

The Vale of Pickering is a low-lying flat area of land in North Yorkshire, England. It is drained by the River Derwent. The landscape is rural with scattered villages and small market towns. It has been inhabited continuously from the Mesolithic period...

 runs across the region, and this appears as an aquifer

Aquifer

An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...

 in Kirkdale swallowing most of the water from Hodge Beck, which reappears further downstream. During summer months the river bed often runs dry as most of the water takes a subterranean passage.
Kirkdale is noted for a bone cave

Kirkdale Cave

Kirkdale Cave is a cave located in Kirkdale near Kirkbymoorside in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, England. The cave was discovered by workmen in 1821, and was found to contain fossilized bones of a variety of mammals not currently found in Great Britain, including hippopotamus, the...

, an ancient animal den, into which scavengers such as hyenas dragged the remains of many other animals. Numerous bones can still be found in the cave today.
Adjacent to the river bed can be found St Gregory's Minster

St Gregory's Minster

St Gregory's Minster is an Anglo-Saxon church with a rare sundial, in Kirkdale near Kirkbymoorside, Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building.The minster was built c...

, a small ancient church dating back to AD 1055 featuring a rare sundial

Kirkdale sundial

thumb|right|Kirkdale sundialThe Saxon sundial at St Gregory's Minster, Kirkdale, near Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, England dates to the mid 11th century. The panel containing the actual sundial above the church doors is flanked by two panels, bearing an inscription in Old English:*Richard...

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