THE day after Boxing Day a friend of mine turned up on my doorstep and announced that there had been heavy snow above Settle but the roads were clear of traffic.

Within an hour we were parked up at Langcliffe and we were trudging through the snow towards Victoria Cave.

When walking in these conditions there are rules which have to be obeyed.

You should never set out alone.

You should tell friends where you are going and what time you expect to be home.

Take lots of energy-giving food with you. Do not drink alcohol but take a supply of hot coffee.

Finally, leave a message displayed on the underside of your windscreen to indicate where you are going.

The chances are that you will never get into trouble while out walking but you never ever take chances.

Bright sunshine and blue sky meant that the snow-draped landscape was both beautiful and awe-inspiring at the same time.

Even in the heat of summer, the grassy slopes leading to Victoria Cave are usually deserted.

It is hard to believe that this is one of the most historic caverns which has ever been explored in the whole of Britain.

The cave was discovered not long after Queen Victoria's coronation by local lads out with their dogs.

All of us who walk the countryside have seen gangs of men with terriers, larger dogs and ferrets scouring the moors for game.

It was the same in 1838 when a lad called Michael Horner and two friends from Langcliffe set off hunting and met up with John Jennings from Settle accompanied by his terriers.

They began to explore a small gap in the cliff which they called Foxholes.

One of the dogs went into the hole and disappeared.

Later the group were to find their dog and in doing so opened up the cave which turned out to be nearly 40 feet (12.2 metres) high and 100 feet wide (30.5 metres).

When the floor of the cave was excavated Romano-British valuables, including silver and bronze brooches, as well as coins, led to the early exploitation of the site and some delicate and valuable items may well have been lost.

Fish harpoons with skillfully-wrought reversed barbs found at several levels during the digs show that the Ribble, then as now, was an excellent fishery. On a day of freezing cold the cave reminded me of what the Ice Age may well have been like. In those days the fauna and flora was remarkably different.

Excavations at the cave have turned up the bones of reindeer, brown bear, grizzly bear, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, straight-tusked elephant, hyena and wild ox, which was proably the ancestor of our cattle.

These animals would have roamed Ribblesdale at the time that Neolithic humans lived in the caves. Badgers also lived during this time and have survived to the present day.

Until very recent times the mountain hare also lived in these uplands. This delicate-looking mammal is much tougher than it looks and in winter its normally bluish grey fur moulted and was replaced by a white coat. This gave the animal excellent camouflage during periods of snow.

Upper Ribblesdale does not have enough snow these days and so the mountain hare is restricted to the Highlands of Scotland. More years ago than I care to remember I spent some time with Alex Tewnion, an expert on the species. He thought that the mountain hare was probably present in the Pennine uplands almost up to Victorian times, when winters seemed to be colder than today.

As I returned to Langcliffe the snow was still crisp beneath my feet but the little streams which eventually trickle down into the Ribble were still producing delightfully attractive sounds.

The next time I venture up into Ribblesdale it will be spring, when I intend to search for alpine flowers on the slopes of Penyghent. This is a delightful mountain, the summit of which can be reached via gently sloping tracks. Roll on spring.