A Day in Castleton

Peveril Castle

Day two of our little mini tour was forecast to be a very wet and miserable day.  So leaving the walking boots at home and armed with an umbrella, we took a wander around the little village of Castleton and it's sights.

Using our English Heritage membership, we first chose to visit Peveril Castle.  The blurb says "A climb to the castle at the top of the hill to enjoy the breathtaking views over the Hope Valley is a highlight of a family day out in Castleton."  And they're not wrong.

View from one of the windows of Peveril Castle Keep

Another view

The Keep of Peveril Castle

Looking over the castle walls to Cave Dale.  Doesn't that look like a wonderful place to walk

Another fine view. 

It's not a very big castle and soon enough it was time to visit our next planned attraction, a Blue John Stone mine.

Derbyshire Blue John is only found under Treak Cliff Hill near Castleton. It's a stone of many colours and patterns and can be carved and into all sorts of household ornamental items. It became extremely popular in the 19th century for those who could afford it, see link for more info: http://www.bluejohnstone.co.uk/

There are a couple of Blue John mines open to visitors.  We chose The Treak Cliff Cavern. We had to wait for the next scheduled tour, but once inside we were well entertained by the guide, who was also one of the few miners permitted to continue the delicate process of easing the precious stone out from the surrounding rock. We did enjoy our tour, although, in comparison to other mines we visited, there wasn't a lot too this one.

But I love stalagmites and stalactites and all the underground formations. Wonderful.

So that was day two.  We have another walk in the Peak District planned for day three.