Last weekend I decided to take advantage of the good weather by going to Castleton. Getting from Chesterfield to Castleton by public transport isn’t easy. I ended up catching the train to Hope and then walking to Castleton.
When I arrived my first port of call was Peveril Castle. This is on top of the hill overlooking Castleton. It is run by the English Heritage.
There isn’t much left of the castle. The keep is just a shell and most of the other walls and buildings have gone.
When I’d finished there I went to Peak Cavern (also known as the Devil’s Arse). The cave was used by rope makers who lived in entrance. It provided shelter from the rain and since they were making rope for the miners in the area they were allowed to live there without paying rent.
As well as making rope the rope makers would give tours to visitors. However they used to use animal fat to make the ropes water proof,and would burn the fat in the cave. So many visitors would turn away from the cave because of the smell.
Before the rope makers a group of outlaws lived in the caves. According to legends they were supposed to be cannibalistic, devil worshippers. So there probably wasn’t as many people visiting the caves for tours back then.
As with all caves you get some interesting patterns on the walls, such as this one of a deer.
This cavern is connected to Speedwell cavern. When there’s a lot of rain the cavern floods. It stays flooded for a couple of days and then the water recedes. As it does so it makes a sound like someone with a bad case of flatulence, which is how the cave got its other name. As it says in a poem about the cave:
The devil rose with a start
from the table where food had never been scarce
he let out a mighty fart
which is why the caves are called the Devil’s Arse
I think that’s right. I tried to look it up on the internet but couldn’t find it, or who it was by.
Posted by msparshatt 
