Peak Cavern

Peak Cavern opens directly beneath Peveril Castle at the edge of Castleton, and its entrance, known locally for centuries as the Devil’s Arse, is the largest natural cave mouth in Britain. Until 1915, families lived and worked in structures built inside the entrance chamber itself, making rope by hand using the cave’s constant temperature and humidity; guided tours still pass the evidence of that trade on the way into the cave proper. The cave sits on Duchy of Lancaster land and is tenanted, run by the same operators as Speedwell Cavern along the road.

Beyond the entrance, the route follows a show-cave path into chambers shaped by the underground river that carved them, with lighting and walkways in place for visitors rather than the scrambling and crawling of a caving trip. It suits families and anyone curious about the geology and history without wanting the harder, wetter version of caving available elsewhere in the district.

Tours run roughly hourly through the summer season and at set times on winter weekdays outside school holidays, with fuller opening at weekends and during school holidays in winter too. Castleton has three other show caves within a short walk or drive, Speedwell, Treak Cliff and Blue John Caverns, each with its own character: Speedwell includes an underground boat ride, and Treak Cliff and Blue John still work small amounts of the banded fluorspar known as Blue John. A single admission does not cover more than one cave, so a full day underground in Castleton means picking two, or budgeting for more than one ticket. It does not suit anyone who came to scramble and crawl; that harder, wetter version is run elsewhere in the district, and this is the one with walkways and lighting.