The Source of Blue John Gemstones. (Treak Cliff Cavern)

Name: daseaford

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Product:	Treak Cliff Cavern
Date:	10.05.01 (868 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great rock formations.

Disadvantages: Lot of steps.

We are told that there is only one place in the world where you can find the Blue John gemstone and that is in the hillside to the north of the town of Castleton in Derbyshire, England.

You can see this gemstone in its natural surroundings in the caves of the Treak Cliff Cavern and learn all about its history during a visit to this showcave.

In the 1750’s the local miners dug a tunnel into the hillside looking for Lead, and although at that time they did not find any Lead they found a dark mineral that they believed was Coal. When they examined the mineral more closely they discovered that it was not Coal, but that it was a blue translucent mineral that was ideal as a gemstone.

Blue John is a form of Fluorspar that has been coloured by the unique combination of minerals in the hillside and is now famous world-wide, and still mined today from this series of caves (about one tonne per year).

The caves are open to visitors all year long and you are taken on a tour of the caves by a local guide. The cave complex comprises of a combination of man made tunnels and large naturally formed caves with some spectacular natural rock formations. The tour takes about 40 minutes and they are started at least every 30 minutes (more frequent during busy periods).

The tours cost £5.50 for adults and £3 for children or £15 for a family ticket. This is not a tour for anybody unsteady on their feet as there are a lot of steps to negotiate and there are a number of places where the roof is a bit low and you have to be careful not to bump your head. The guide is very careful to point out these places and to make sure the whole tour is perfectly safe.

The sight of Blue John stone in the cave is quite impressive, but much more impressive are the stalagmites and stalactites in the lower caves, together with the large naturally formed Limestone caverns. Within a number of the caverns there are also spectacular formations of mineral
deposits over the hard Flowstone which give the appearance of frozen water flows. There are also a large number of fossils in the Limestone rocks that the guide will point out to you.

I suppose that like all cave visits the guides point out natural features that are supposedly reminiscent of famous people or features. This cave visit is no exception and in particular is the witch cave where the combination of lighting shows the shadow of a witch (Gertrude) on the wall of the cave. This is a bit corny but it really impressed the younger members in our party.

At one point the guide turns off all of the lights (after preparing everyone for this) so the visitors can appreciate what total darkness is really like. A couple of minutes was quite long enough for me. Also at the end of the cave there is a pipe collecting the natural water in the cave and visitors have the chance to taste completely fresh water. As there is no mains water to the Treak Cliff Cavern the guide also points out that this water is piped out to the Tea Room for making the drinks.

You leave the caves by a different route and descend the hillside by a long zig-zag path back to the cave entrance. In the buildings here there is a Tea Room, a gift shop, some toilets, a picnic area and a viewing area looking over the surrounding countryside where you can admire the hills of the Peak District for miles around.

In the gift shop are many items made from Blue John, by their own craftsmen. There is also a bigger selection in their shop in the town of Castleton. (The Castleton Gift Shop)

There are also displays of rocks and minerals, together with tools from the caves and a video telling you more about the caves and their history.

All of the staff are extremely friendly and are all very knowledgeable on the history of the caves and the surrounding area.

When you visit the caves you can park in a parking zone on the road, but at weekends and Bank Holi
days this is a Pay and Display zone and this will cost you about £2 (dependant upon how long you may want to stop). Again there are a lot of steps from the road up to the entrance of the caves.

If you want any more information about the caves then you can look on their website at:
http://www.bluejohnstone.com

Altogether this is a very enjoyable and informative visit. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Treak Cliff Cavern and I would encourage anyone else to pay it a visit, as long as they don’t mind going up and down a lot of steps.

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