Poole's Cavern

Poole’s Cavern is a limestone cave on the edge of Buxton in Derbyshire’s Peak District. The cave is part of the Wye system and has been named a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It formed two million years ago and still shows clear signs of its great age. Bronze Age tools have been found inside, and Romano-Britons may have used one chamber for worship or metal-working. An outlaw called Poole reportedly hid here in the 15th century to rob travellers along the nearby road. The cave has long drawn visitors. Thomas Hobbes listed it among the Seven Wonders of the Peak in 1636, and Charles Cotton wrote about it in 1681. The 6th Duke of Devonshire opened it as a show cave in 1853 after widening the entrance. Early guides frightened tourists by threatening to leave them in darkness unless paid more. Gas lamps installed in 1859 lit the caverns until 1965, when the cave closed and reopened in 1976 under new management. Inside, visitors follow a 310-metre route through chambers such as the Roman Chamber and Great Dome. Large stalactites and stalagmites include the Flitch of Bacon and Mary Queen of Scots’ Pillar. Some stalagmites have a porous texture and a pale colour from minerals washed down from Grin Low. A borehole camera in 1998 revealed another chamber called Seventh Heaven, though most of the cave remains unexplored. The visitor centre nearby provides a cafe and shop for those who finish their tour.