Castleton

Why base here

Castleton sits directly beneath Mam Tor and Winnats Pass, at the point where the Dark Peak’s gritstone gives way to the limestone that has been quarried and mined here for centuries. The village takes its name from Peveril Castle, founded by William Peverel in the years after the Norman Conquest, its stone keep added around 1176 under Henry II; the ruin still stands on the hill above the market place, now cared for by English Heritage. Underneath the same hill run four show caves, Peak Cavern, Speedwell Cavern, Treak Cliff Cavern and Blue John Cavern, the last two still yielding small amounts of the banded fluorspar known as Blue John. Few Peak District villages pack this much into so short a walk from the centre.

On foot versus by car

Cave Dale, Peveril Castle, Peak Cavern and the foot of Winnats Pass are all within ten minutes of the market place, no car required. Mam Tor and the Great Ridge start a short drive away at the Mam Nick car park, though the path up from the village is an option for anyone happy with a steady climb. Treak Cliff and Blue John Caverns sit further out along Winnats Pass and are more comfortably reached by car. For anything beyond the immediate valley, Hope Valley buses and the train from Hope cover Hathersage, Edale and the wider Sheffield-Manchester line.

Practicalities

Hope station, on the Hope Valley line, is about 3km away, a walk of under an hour or a short bus ride. The village’s one road west, Winnats Pass, has carried all through-traffic since 1979, when the old A625 route round the eastern face of Mam Tor, known locally as the shivering mountain, was finally abandoned. There is no direct road over the top any more, which means a car parked in Castleton for a caving and walking day rarely needs to move at all.

With children

Castleton packs more into a short walk from the village than anywhere else on this list, and that matters most with children. Peak Cavern, a few minutes from the market place, needs no scrambling: a lit, level path leads into Britain’s largest natural cave entrance, long known locally as the Devil’s Arse, a name that does more to win over a reluctant seven-year-old than any amount of geology, and it runs regardless of weather. Mam Tor and the Great Ridge suits a family capable of a real climb: 239 metres of ascent from the Mam Nick car park, well within reach of younger children if the day is built around three hours rather than the ninety minutes a fit adult needs. Cave Dale is shorter but rougher, a steep, narrow limestone gorge, loose underfoot, ending at Peveril Castle’s walls on the way back into the village. A castle at the end and a slope steep enough to slide down on purpose make it a favourite with sure-footed children, and a liability for anyone who isn’t.