Formation of the Peak District Show Caves

One of the key attractions for Peak District visitors are the show caves and caverns. The part of the region known as the White Peak is underlain by the rock limestone. This rock is largely made from calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is attacked by rain water because it is naturally slightly acidic. It is acidic because of the it picks up carbon dioxide from the air. In water, carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid. From your school science lessons, you probably remember that acids, even weak and diluted ones such as carbonic acid will react with most carbonates. In the case of carbonic acid, the reaction is very slow.

Rocks are not short of time. The limestones have been around for more than 300 million years.  That’s hard to visualise but it is an enormous chunk of time. As the rainwater seeps through cracks in the rocks, it therefore slowly dissolves the limestone. Caves, caverns and linking passages of varying sizes are formed. Some of the larger caverns in the Peak District are now open to visit – as the Derbyshire show caves.

Show Caves and Caverns – Book List

The Story of the Speedwell Cavern, Castleton, Derbyshire

Blue John Caverns and Blue John Mine, Castleton

Treak Cliff Cavern and the Story of Blue John Stone

Guide to the Grand Cavern, Matlock Bath

The Heights of Abraham. Matlock Bath – Derbyshire.

The Heights of Abraham – Matlock Bath, Derbyshire

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Minerals of the White Peak of Derbyshire

As well as erosion, deposition has taken place in the rocks of the Peak District. Lead, Copper and zinc ores have been mined since Roman times. There are other minerals too, for example barytes and Blue John.

Derbyshire Blue John has been worked locally for centuries to make objects for decoration. These include jugs, bowls, brooches and other jewellery.  Blue John is still worked in the Peak District today. The main centre for this is the Peak District town of Castleton, since it is close to the the caverns and mines from which it is extracted. Blue John is thought to have gained its name from the French ‘bleu jaune’ which describes the two unique colours of this mineral. It is a delicate mineral to work so the finest examples are very expensive indeed.



Where to find the Peak District’s Show Caves and Caverns

Castleton is a popular tourist destinations because of the show caves. These include the unusually named ‘Devil’s Arse’. This has one of the largest cave entrances in the UK. You can take a boat trip along the canal in Speedwell Cavern and visit the bottomless underground lake. There is even an opportunity to mine your own piece of Blue John in the Blue John mine … Where else! The other key areas of Derbyshire with caves open to visitors are at Buxton (Poole’s Cavern) and Matlock Bath Heights of Abraham. The caves at Cresswell were occupied during the stone age. However, they are closed to the public owing to their archaeological value. You can peer in through the protective grilles.

Thor’s cave is more of a big hole in the side of a hill but is worth a visit since there are some great views once you are there. It lies in the Manifold valley and evidence of early human habitation was found there. There are many more cave shelters and caves that have yielded archaeological artifacts in Derbyshire and the Peak District.

Exploration

Then there are the ‘potholes’, caves and human made caves (mines!!). These can be  explored by serious cavers who are continually pushing the knowledge of the underground connections and discovering new places like Titan which is 475 feet deep.

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