Wharncliffe Crags

Wharncliffe Crags is a gritstone escarpment or edge situated approximately 6 miles (10 km) north-west of the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England.

The rocks at the north-western end of Wharncliffe Crags have been quarried to produce quern-stones as long ago as the Iron Age, continuing into the period of the Roman occupation of Britain.

The geological features of the cliff face are of special interest, showing the best available exposed example of the Wharncliffe Edge Rock Formation within the Pennines and two primary sandstone beds that were originally laid down as sediments from a meandering river.

The downslope from the base of the cliff towards the Don valley is covered by the birch and oak woodland of Wharncliffe Woods, which are owned by the Forestry Commission.

[8] The north-western (Deepcar) end of the crags stand within the Wharncliffe Heath Local Nature Reserve an area of heather, bracken, birch scrub and broad-leaved woodland that provides a home for a rich diversity of wildlife.

The reserve is managed by the Wharncliffe Heathlands Trust, whose main recent projects have been keeping birch scrub under control by felling and wood pasture creation.

The legend was mentioned by Sir Walter Scott in the opening chapter of Ivanhoe: "Here haunted of yore the fabulous Dragon of Wantley".