"Picture postcard perfection" Castleton by carlrea

Castleton is one of the most picture postcard villages i have ever seen.
The main street is lined with quaint cottages and numerous tea rooms and lovely olde world pubs andthen but in the background is the stunning backdrop of Mam-Tor and Winnets Pass and if you like your hill walking then you will love this place.

Castleton has 4 underground show caves, all worth a visit, for their own interesting features. These are Blue John Cavern, Speedwell Cavern, Treak Cliff Cavern and Peak Cavern.

Blue John Cavern and Treak Cliff contain the treasured, pretty blue and yellow fluorspar called Blue John. It was first mined at Treak Cliff and by 1770, 16 mines were extracting the stone and selling it to several firms in Derbyshire who turned it into ornaments, vases, clocks and jewellry. Blue John is only found in this area of Britain, andsmall pieces of the mineral are still plentiful, large pieces are now rare.

The shivering mountain

Mam Tor is composed of horizontal layers of shales and gritstone. As water and ice work their way into these layers, they start to crumble, and the hill side is said to shiver. This had caused many problems for road engineers as the crumbling leads to land slips. These land slips have made the road unstable. Often in the past the road suffered from the land slips and has had to be rebuilt. Eventually in 1977 the road was closed. It is possible to walk along the remains of the road that, in places, is reminiscent of an earthquake zone.

Mam Tor was a late Bronze or early Iron age hill fort, although there is little evidence nowadays. It is a steep climb to the top of Mam Tor, but well worth the walk. From the top of Mam Tor, extensive views of the Hope valley are possible.

Inside one of the caverns

Blue-John is a unique fluor spar found only at Castleton. The mineral is found in veins in the limestone deep within the Blue John Cavern where it has been mined for centuries
Thought to have been named "Blue John" by John Kirk and Joseph Hall who worked the mines in the 18th Century, it is the rarest natural formation in the British Isles.

The Romans were the first to discover Blue John some 2,000 years ago.

• Pros:Picture postcard, stunning backdrop, lovely tearooms
• Cons:can get very congested due to its popularity.
• In a nutshell:Worth going just for the scenery