Speedwell Cavern

Speedwell Cavern is a show cave in Castleton where visitors travel by boat through water-filled passages to reach natural limestone chambers. The system features narrow tunnels and underground lakes, all carved by flowing water over countless generations.

The site began as a lead mining operation in the 1700s when workers carved tunnels searching for ore. When mining ceased, the passages were left behind and eventually became a destination for underground exploration.

The name reflects its past as a mining site, though today people come to experience the underground waterways carved by nature. Visitors find themselves in a place shaped by both human effort and geological time, where the two stories intertwine.

Good footwear is important since you will walk on stone surfaces and board a boat for part of the tour. The temperature stays cool year-round, so bring a light jacket regardless of the season.

The Bottomless Pit stands out as a flooded vertical shaft with an underground waterfall dropping inside it. This feature is part of the largest natural opening of its type found anywhere in Britain.