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Castleton caves


john65

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Been reading your comments on the lad who was trapped in the cave (pothole) at Castleton. I became a waiter at 'Ye Olde Nags Head' at Castleton just after the incident. The owner of the 'Nags', a Mr Harry Barnes, told me that the parents of the unfortunate victim had stayed at the Hotel for several weeks, during the time of the failed rescue attempt, and Mr Barnes refused to take any money from them for their all inclusive stay. The people of Castleton did not like talking about the incident in repect of the lad.

I had a great couple of years working in Castleton at the 'Nags Head' and was always a visitor to the mines. The Speedwell Cavern, the Blue John Mine, the Treak Cliffe Cavern and the Peak Cliffe Cavern. Myself and a few other friends made use of an old GPO BSA motorbike, I think it was a 75cc Francis Barnett!! We would time each other, setting off from the Nags Head car park, through the village up Mam Torr and down Winnatts Pass past Speedwel Cavern and back to the Nags. An hair raising ride down Winnatts up on the grass around the bends, made your time quicker but more dangerous. Those where the days, couldn't do it now.

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Was it Speedwell Cavern which was entered by boat, the guide propelling the boat with his feet ?
Yes, as Plain Talker wrote this is the Speedwell Cavern. The boat takes you along an old (lead) mine shaft to the cavern with the so-called "Bottomless Pit". The first time I did the trip, in 1960, the guide pushed the boat along with his (gnarled) hands. The next time in 1987 the guide lay on his back and propelled the boat with his feet on the ceiling.The last time (1990s) the boat had a little electric motor. That's progress!.:) The Speedwell Cavern got some free publicity in the 1960s when "Miss Nugent" of Coronation street organised a coach trip there as part of the storyline.

 

WHy do I remember little things like that, but forget what I had for my dinner?.:confused:

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Speedwell Cavern is the only one to have boats in the others you have to walk. Although the Blue John mine is very colourful, the best one is the Treak Cliffe Cavern.:)
Yes - it certainly has more Blue John in it than any of the others, and some impressive stalagmites & stalactites. Here's a photo of a fairly large (<6-inch, 40-ounce) chunk of Blue John that I found in the Old Tor Mine in 1969, before it was closed off.
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Remember first going there about 1950 and I could be wrong here but in the shop along side the Speedwell entrance wasn't there an old bridle or some thing ,and a story about an eloping couple who were murdered and their body's thrown down the Speedwell pit ?.

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Remember first going there about 1950 and I could be wrong here but in the shop along side the Speedwell entrance wasn't there an old bridle or some thing ,and a story about an eloping couple who were murdered and their body's thrown down the Speedwell pit ?.
It was actually a side-saddle which the young couple supposedly used for their journey, and it may still (?) be on display at the Speedwell Cavern. The young couple were robbed and murdered by some lead miners - one version of the story can be read here.
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