Where Is It?
In the summer of 2005 a mate of mine and I decided that we were going to visit the small village of Castleton in Derbyshire. On the AA road map there were plenty of tourism symbols suggesting that there would be plenty of things to do there, so off we went…
On arriving in the small village (in the middle of nowhere), we found the centre which had an array of shops and was clearly geared towards the tourist industry, so it looked like just the thing we were looking for!
Boat Trip
After wandering around for a while we noticed a sign for a boat trip. We hadn’t noticed any water nearby on the map so we took a closer look at the sign… It seams that the boat trip was underground! Derbyshire is riddled with old Lead mines and the underground boat trip was down one of them. The half mile tunnel (for want of a better word) was where the miners would have been looking for lead and it becomes flooded when it rains. It is no longer mined for lead and is only used by tourists.
Is There A Castle In Castleton?
Once we had been on the boat trip we decided to look for the castle (we didn’t know if there was one or not, but as it was called Castleton we thought there’s bound to be one). We managed to find what was left of the castle and we had a good look around the ruins.
We then went for some traditional Fish & Chips and decided to call it a day and head home…
The Journey Home
We got in to the car and headed off home, on our way out of Castleton we passed this great big sing that simply said “DEVILS ARSE” with an arrow pointing in to a car park!!! We looked at each other in disbelief as if to say “did that really say what we thought it said?”. So we had to turn around to make sure, and sure enough it did say “Devils Arse”. It turns out that the Devils Arse is another underground cavern…
Entering The Devils Arse
After walking up a long, windy and narrow path between two large hillsides we came to an extremely large opening in the hillside, the Devils Arse!
Apparently many years ago when the whole of Derbyshire was rife with miners looking for lead they dug, blasted and dug some more but never managed to find any lead. There was however, an underground stream.
It is this underground stream that gives this cavern its name. When the water level rises (in a chamber you cannot see), the air pressure slowly builds up and once or twice a year the air manages to escape.
As the air escapes it gives out a rip-roaring rumbling noise – like a fart!
Back in the days when they were looking for lead, they didn’t know what was causing the rumbling noise so the miners concluded that it must be the Devil that was making the horrid noise. As it sounded like a fart they decided that it must be coming from the Devils Arse—hence its name!!!
As they didn’t find any lead in the hillside the miners set up home there (they needed somewhere to live I suppose), they began to make and sell rope which was used a great deal by all the miners in the area while they were mining for lead.
The tour guides even give you a demonstration of how they used to make rope and if you wish you can purchase some from their small (but adequate) gift shop as you exit.
Where Can You Find Out More Information?
If you like the sound of the Devils Arse and the underground boat trip then take a look at the following web sites for opening times and ticket prices:
www.speedwellcavern.co.uk
www.peakcavern.co.uk
