Flying High In Derbyshire (Heights of Abraham)

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Heights of Abraham
Date:	16/10/09 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cable cars - 'nuff said

Disadvantages: Slightly pricy for something not really a full day out

Just as I once went to Tasmania 'just' to go to the Cadbury Factory, I went to Matlock Bath 'just' to visit their cable car. I love cable cars. A lot. There's something so wonderful about swinging about in the wind in a tin can as they yank you up or down a hill, marvelling the view below. Recently in Taxco they had a cable car that had beautiful views of the silver mining town. In Cairns you can take one that soars you about the rain forest. Barcelona's pulls you over the beach. At this one up the road from me, the view is of the lovely British Rail car park and A-roads below, but still.

The Heights of Abraham is a tourist attraction located in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire. My sister came to visit and I wanted to take her somewhere for a day, and googled my way to this place. We weren't necessarily typical of the families who visit (she's a squirrel loving Astrophysicist, I'm a cheerleading project manager, we are in our mid 20s (me) and early 30s (her) and we had no kids in tow) but it sounded fun (hello...it's a cable car) so we set off one Saturday morning for the hour and a half drive from Manchester.

It's a nice route along lots of winding roads and through sweet little villages but if you prefer the place is very easily accessible by public transport as the train station is only a minute's walk from the cable car base station. The best place to park is in the station car park too, and there are lots of spaces though they fill up quickly on sunny days. It's £3 for up to 4 hours which is about the right length of time to enjoy all the parts of the attraction, and seemed reasonable.

The best and most fun way to enjoy the attraction is to buy the combo ticket from the booth at the bottom, and ride up to the top of the hill on the cable car, but if this isn't for you, you can hike to the top on foot. Since we were there for the cable car as much as anything else, this was naturally the option we went for. A combo ticket currently costs £10.80 for adults and £7.80 for children and seniors, and though it's not advertised, if you ask they'll also give a student discount. Family tickets are also available.


THE CABLE CAR

Opened in 1984, this was the UK's first 'alpine style' cable car and runs all day from the base station to the top of the hill, some thousand feet up. The cars are big enough for 6 people and whether or not they make you share with another party depends on how many of you there are and how busy it is - we shared going up but had one to ourselves coming down late afternoon. They're like the carriages you get on a big wheel, though smaller than those on the London Eye or Vienna's Riesenrad, and have glass sides which allow for excellent views of the surrounding areas. It depends on the weather, but the ride seemed nice and smooth and not too swaying on the way up although if you're scared of heights you really should avoid looking down onto the road below - it feels like it would hurt a lot more to crash down from here onto concrete than fall further onto a 'soft' treetop landing. Now you're not going to crash and fall, but these are the things some people think of during the ride. Actually, I'm exaggerating. Look down and you'll see and think this, but keep your head up and you'll be treated to stunning views of the Derwent Valley and surrounding Peak District. I loved this bit of our day and would have happily spent much longer riding up and down if you could have stayed on without having to pay again.


THE CAVES

Once at the top, there are two cavern tours on offer which run fairly regularly. The caves used to be used for mining years ago, and evidence of this remains. Both our guides were really informative - one even had a degree in Geology (like Geography, but with even more colouring in, I believe) - and were full of stories about life back then. They could point out which rock was which from the ones on display, and were happy to answer questions. One of the tours starts out with a short film, and the other has an interactive part where a puppet suddenly appears out of one of the jutting rocks and starts 'talking' to you. The caverns are cool but not too cold - a cardigan's a good idea, but you won't freeze if you forget it, regardless of the time of year.


WHO? WHAT? WHY?

The Who? What? Why? Exhibit is housed below the Rock Shop and includes wall displays and looped videos about mining times and also about the effort it took to put in the cable cars. It explains about the cable car rescue vehicles they have and, if you want you can pose for a picture on a real one they've strung up in the corner of the exhibit. It's placed in front of a backdrop that makes you look like you're riding high above the town below and though it's blatantly not real if you look too closely, it's still fun to try. When we were there no one was sitting on it and I wanted to wait until everyone had emptied out before I did (not wanting to look like a silly 8 year old) but people kept coming as well as going, so eventually I just went for it. When I got off, several photos later, my antics were swiftly followed by a youngish boy (probably a true silly 8 year old) and a retired lady and her husband, so I didn't feel that silly anymore...


FOSSIL FACTORY & HEATH AND HEAVEN

These are two of the newer additions to the site. The Fossil Factory is an 'educational' bit on facts and figures about rocks and fossils, and how the Peal District formed in the first place. There's another short film here, and also a massive (3m) fossil from the time of the dinosaurs that is quite impressive. Heath & Heaven is a bit different - it's a exhibition of poems plus ariel photographs all taken on the same day that create a sort of patchwork view of the area. Not as interesting for the children, perhaps, but worth a quick glance.


AND THERE'S MORE...

There are several adventure play areas for children, a lookout tower to climb for more great views, picnic areas, a café, a restaurant and a bar (we'd recommend the ice cream and chocolate smothered waffle dish), a pleasant, not too expensive gift shop and a separate shop for rocks and gems, plenty of toilets and multiple woodland trails for those who like to walk. One of the caverns also brings you out halfway along one of these, so you have a short, pleasant, down-hill walk back to where you started from. The whole place is really nicely done with bark covered paths leading through the woodland areas, and lots of benches to stop for a rest on.


VERDICT

I though the Heights of Abraham was a really good, simple, British tourist attraction with helpful, friendly, well trained staff from the ticket sellers to the guides. It wasn't too tacky or commercialised or crowded, and though it depended on reasonable weather as the parts were all separate and require you to walk outdoors between them, it only has to be fine as opposed to raining, not boiling hot, for you to enjoy it. It has something for all ages and enough to fill a few hours. We did everything there was to do, had a picnic lunch outside, wandered around, took lots of pictures and set off home about 2.30pm. As with many places, it's good to get there when it opens, but people were arriving as we were leaving and though queues had formed, they were not unbearably long. You do get a lot for your money although it could soon add up if you go en masse. It's a nice place for all the family, and if you live in the area you could easily go and enjoy it for free by walking to the top and skipping the caverns, just enjoying the walks and the exhibits etc.

I was not dissapointed by our trip and would return even though you can't pay with Tesco vouchers...and that's saying something for me. I'd also take foreign visitors here since it's so properly British, from the views to the woodland walks, and certainly beats the Trafford Centre for offering a taste of the UK.


FINAL FACTS

Opening Hours

10am - 4.30pm / 5pm depending on the time of year. It's closing for the season on 1st November, so hurry!

Feb - March : weekends only

March - October : daily

Excellent website available telling you all there is to see and do:

www.heights-of-abraham.co.uk/

There are lots of places to stay locally either in Matlock or nearby, and there are many other local attractions too if you are coming from further afield and want to make a weekend of it, though this is by far the most established.

Summary: You can't pay with Tesco vouchers but I went anyway