Treak Cliff Cavern can be found on the fringe of Derbyshire's Peak District town of Castleton. Cutting deep into the limestone hillside this is actually one of four different Cave systems that penetrate this impressive landscape. This landscape and the Caves were formed between 350 and 300 million years ago when this whole area was submerged under the sea.
Treak Cliff Cavern is perhaps the least known of Castleton's Caves, although it still attracts many thousands of visitors each year. This may have something to do with the fact that it is the least accessible and it is also much smaller than Peak Cavern, the largest Cave here and the Blue John Cavern. Castleton's other Cave, Speedwell Cavern benefits from having an entrance directly next to the road and also has the added appeal of being flooded by water, meaning that a trip into this Cave is on a boat.
Treak Cliff Cavern is however by no means difficult to access. There are two different approaches. The first of these is from the car park of Speedwell Cavern, which can be found at the bottom of one of the steepest roads in England
called Winnats Pass. There is a car park here but be warned, this costs £3.00 (€4.50) to park here for 3 hours.
Alternatively, Treak Cliff Cavern can be approached from the Mam Tor road. Mam Tor is the largest Mountain in this area and dominates the area. The Mam Tor road was once a route over the Pennines to Manchester from here, but due to serious land erosion this road has been closed since 1979. It is however possible to drive about one mile (1.5 Km) along this road before it is blocked off. Parking on this road is free but there is no designated car park so the cars just park on the grass verge.
From here Treak Cliff Cavern is a steep climb up the hillside. This certainly would not be suitable for the disabled or the infirm but for the able-bodied it is quite an interesting experience.
The climb to the Cavern entrance is very steep, but it is a well walked footpath and there are several sets of steps to make the climbing easier. It is actually possible to see the entrance to the Cavern from the road, and to be honest it is not actually that far, and should only take about 15 minutes to complete.
At the entrance to the Cavern there is a Gift Shop, some toilets and a Cafe. It is possible to browse around here without paying the Cave entrance fee but the prices at both the Cafe and Gift Shop are rather high.
Entry into the Cavern is through a turnstile where it is necessary to pay the entry fee. Again this does not come cheap. Admission charges are currently £8.50 (€13) for adults and £3.80 (€6) for children.
It is not possible to wander through the Cavern without a Guide for safety reasons and the trip through the Cave is conducted as a Guided tour. These tours leave at approximately every 45 minutes, and each tour lasts about 40 minutes, so it is pretty much a case of as one party comes out another one goes in.
There were about 15 people in our party, which included people of all ages including a couple of small children.
The first thing that was noticeable was that it was not cold, I expected it be quite cold, but I barely noticed any difference in temperature change at all. It is however very damp and there is a slight stale smell.
The Cavern is well lit with electric lighting and there are wooden planks on the sections of the floor that are a little bit hazardous underfoot.
Treak Cliff Cavern, along with the other Caves here are famous for a rare type of mineral quartz known as Blue John. This purple coloured semi-precious stone occurs here and nowhere else in the World. It has been mined from these Caves for centuries and in fact the large entrance to this Cave is more or less man made as a result of these mining activities.
All along the route our Guide pointed out examples of Blue John, which looked like purple veins within the rock. In places there is a sufficient amount of this to reflect the light and cast quite an eerie purple glow. He also pointed out fossils of creatures in the rock wall that had been there for millions of years. Some of these are remarkably well preserved.
There are several interesting features within the Cave beside the Blue John and many of these areas have fancy names. These include areas known as Aladdin's Cave, Fairyland, and Dream Cave.
Aladdin's Cave was first discovered in 1926 and contains some of the largest stalactites in England. From here a passageway leads to Fairyland, where there are even more stalactites hanging down from the roof. These are smaller in size than those in Aladdin's Cave and look more magical than the larger ones. Our Guide described them as looking like rows of tiny carrots and this description was rather apt.
Some of the larger stalactites and stalagmites have been given names. The largest stalactite here is called the Elephant and hangs down 1.5 metres from the roof. Directly below this there is a stalagmite growing upwards, which is only about 5 centimetres away, but our Guide explained that it would take another 1,000 years before the two structures join up.
Our Guide was very knowledgeable, although I guess that he must have done these same tours hundreds of times before and been asked the same questions over and over again.
Overall I would definitely recommend a visit to Treak Cliff Cavern. It is a lit bit expensive, but it really is a once in a lifetime experience, and something that you will probably only ever do once.
Treak Cliff Cavern Cross Street Castleton Hope Valley Derbyshire S33 8WH
An interesting and informative review. I will visit this on my travels. I did go down a very deep Blue John cave some years ago, I think it may have been the other one. I remember the walk up again was exhausting. I love Blue John and it's awe inspiring to see it in its natural home.
Miskah 28.05.2007 20:07
very tempting review, had never heard of this place but now i want to experience it
denella 26.05.2007 08:43
I can remember visiting this cavern - probably more than forty years ago.
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
exceptional by (7%):
very helpful by (93%):
