Speedwell Cavern

Speedwell Cavern takes you on an incredible underground journey by boat. Enter the inner world of the underground cave system in the heart of the Peak District National Park and absorb the atmosphere as a watery silence echoes all around you. Set at the foot of the spectacular Winnats Pass, high above the village of Castleton, Speedwell Cavern takes you on an incredible underground boat journey.

Descend the 105 steps from the almost hidden cavern entrance to the landing stage of an underground canal where you step on to your tour guide boat. From here you glide through the workings of a 200 year old lead mine. Picture in your mind what it must have been like to carve out these tunnels using only the most primitive tools as your guide recounts the story of the mine which opens into a network of natural caverns and underground rivers.

At Halfway House the canal tunnel splits into two to allow oncoming boats to pass as you wend your way 200 meters below the surface of the hill before entering a magnificent cathedral-like cavern containing the awesome Bottomless Pit: a huge subterranean lake!