Speedwell Cavern

• 106 steps down the original mine adit, on a steady 45-degree slope with good handrails, to a small jetty.
• A boat carrying up to 21 people sets off into the narrow canal tunnel, with a guide telling the mine's story as you go.
• Partway along, the tunnel widens at the halfway house so boats can pass each other.
• The passage runs roughly 200 metres beneath the surface of the hill before opening into a large, cathedral-like cavern.
• The boat brings you back to the jetty, then it is the same 106 steps back up.
• Allow roughly 40 minutes to an hour underground, plus about 20 minutes between your arrival time and the tour start.

Digging began in 1771 and carried on intermittently for about twenty years. The passage alone took around four and a half years to cut, and the steps you use were finished by 1778. Knowing that the tunnel under your boat was won by hand, in the dark, for an uncertain return, is a large part of what makes the trip stick with you.

The end point is a large chamber roughly 200 metres beneath the surface of the hill, containing a vast subterranean lake that lies below the viewing platform. Water from it drains through the hill and emerges toward Russett Well at the mouth of Peak Cavern Gorge. It is the main set piece of the tour and where you spend your viewing time.

• Bring a jacket. It is cool down there whatever the weather is doing above, which is a bonus on hot days.
• Wear shoes with grip. The steps and jetty are damp underfoot.
• Book ahead. Boat capacity is limited, and weekends and holidays fill up.
• Not suitable if you are claustrophobic, and the low, narrow tunnel is a real consideration for anyone unsure about tight spaces.
• The step route means the tour will not work for many visitors with mobility limitations, prams or wheelchairs.
• There is pay-and-display car and coach parking opposite the entrance, with a discount scheme for cavern visitors, and chargeable toilets in the car park for ticket holders using a token from the gift shop.

The experience is short and focused on one destination: the boat ride and the single main chamber are the whole of it, and visitors expecting a sprawling cave system sometimes come away feeling it was smaller than imagined. The 212 steps in total are a genuine effort, particularly on the way back up. If you want scale and formations, pair this with one of the other Castleton caverns rather than expecting it all here.