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| Image: The Winnats is a beautiful valley at the end of the Hope Valley. |
| Location: |
At the foot of the Winnats Pass, a few kilometers west of Castleton, Peak District.
25km from Sheffield, 45km from Manchester.
 Location by UK Streetmap
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| Open: |
All year daily 10-17. Last tour 16. [2008] |
| Fee: |
Adults £7.75, Children (5-15) £5.75, Children (0-4) free, Concession £6.75, Family (2+2) £26, Additional Child £5.75. Primary School £3.50, Secondary School £4.25, Sixth Form £5, Teachers/Carers child rate, Adult £6. Car Park £2.00 (£1 refunded at cave). [2008] |
| Classification: |
 Karst cave,
rn with large artificial parts.
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| Light: | electric. |
| Dimension: | L=2400m. |
| Guided tours: | L=500m, D=30min. |
| Bibliography: |
Trevor D. Ford: The Story of the Speedwell Cavern Trevor D. Ford (1990): Speedwell Cavern Eine Führung mit dem Boot, 32pp, SB. Many colour plates German Guidebook to the cave which is entered by boat. Includes description, notes of Blue John. Trevor D. Ford (1990): Speedwell Cavern Visite Guidee en Bateau, 32pp, SB. Many colour plates French Guidebook to the cave which is entered by boat. Includes description, notes of Blue John. |
| Address: |
Speedwell Cavern, Winnats Pass, Castleton, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S30 2WA, Tel: +44-1433-620512, Fax: +44-1433-621888,
E-mail: |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/07/01 20:24:06 $ |
| 1771 | Thomas Bennet bought the rights for New Rake, the southernmost ore vein in Speedwell. | |
| 1774 | most likely the start of the mining. | |
| 1778 | Bottomless Pit reached. | |
| 1781 | Stream Caves reached. | |
| 1790 | (maybe earlier) the work was stopped. |
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| Image: the entrance to Speedwell Cavern |
Speedwell Cavern lies at the foot of the Winnats Pass, just a few kilometers from Castleton.
The tour through Speedwell Cavern is made by boat, which makes Speedwell unique in all British show caves. A waterfilled tunnel, part of the former lead mine is the way into the caverns. Half-way House is a small chamber, which allows the boat in and the boat out to pass.
Several years ago, the boat was propelled by the guide pushing the wall on either side. Latera second guide lied on his back, walking along the ceiling. Today the boats are equipped with an electric motor.
From the entrance a staircase with 105 step leads down to a waterfilled artificial tunnel. This tunnel leads to an enormous chamber called Bottomless Pit. It is about 100m high and contains a 20m high waterfall.
It seems, that the Bottomless Pit and the Stream Caves were already known before the tunnel was built. There were shafts from the surface, that are blocked now. So it seems, the tunnel was a try to allow the transport of large amounts of ore by boat. The project was led by James Gilbert, who was the Duke of Devonshire's agent for the Ecton Hill mines in Worsley near Manchester. He already installed a similar system there.
But the assumed rich beds of ore were never found and so the mine was a financial disaster.
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