3. VILLAGE WITHOUT SUN

PEAK CAVERN, CASTLETON

The yawning void of Peak Cavern – the largest cave entrance in Britain and originally indelicately known as the Devil’s Arse – was once the home of a community of rope-makers, in a village that never saw the sun.

The moist, damp conditions in the vast cave entrance made it ideal for twisting the ropes that were essential in the local lead mining industry. Now occupied only by a noisy flock of jawdaws, Peak Cavern is a prime example of the power of the meltwater at the end of the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago. Peakshole Water, which flows out of the cave, created an extensive system of caverns, including the recently discovered Titan, at 142m (464ft) the deepest cave shaft in Britain (pictured right).