Blue John Cavern in High Peak

Really interesting guided tour of the caverns after a nice hike over from Edale. Our guide, George, was fantastic and a bite to eat at the Blue John cafe afterwards set us up for our hike back to the cottage.

A wonderful experience from start to finish, tour guide Richard was so lovely and knowledgeable, really brought the caves to life.

Richard was pur guide for the day, what a wonderful experience. He was incredibly knowledgeable, easy going and gave time to answer questions we had. we have visited many caves all over the country but Blue John is an absolute must see. absolutely spectacular.

After ascending and descending Mam Tor my friends and I visited Blue John Cavern. I had been many years ago with Cub Scouts, but yesterday's visit (16/03/2025) was absolutely made by Nigel, our guide through the caves. His enthusiasm, knowledge and sense of humour made an already impressive trip really memorable. It's clear how much he cares about the cavern and its history. Thanks for making our trip Nigel!

Brilliant guide almost a personal tour there were only 4 of us

The Blue John Cavern is tucked away on the side of a hill surrounded by beautiful countryside. You park about 200m away from the entrance and walk downhill to the building. Inside, you are guided down the 247 stone steps - stopping along the way to see seams of Blue John, water pools and stalagmites & stalactites - really interesting to understand the history and how tough it was to work down in the caverns.

Good with friendly informative staff

Fantastic experience! Paul our guide was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour also. Was a small group we went into the caves with and dogs are welcome too. Highly recommend!

Nigel the guide was very good and very informative overall very good worth the money👍

Incredible cave and great tour with Nigel! Real character with a great knowledge of the cave and surrounding area. They need to introduce contactless for tipping as I would've tipped handsomely.

Tour guide full of interesting facts. Well worth visiting. The climb down flights of steps isn't to bad. Coming back up wasn't to bad either

Excellent tour. Our guide was knowledgeable, friendly and clear with his instruction’s to navigate the caverns safely. He answered questions and we didn’t feel rush. Very enjoyable experience. There is 245 steps down and back up. You do them in stages so not as bad as it sounds. Hand rails are there for your safety.

Really interesting to see these underground caverns. Our guide, Paul, was really knowledgeable and friendly. Lots of stairs but plenty of breaks on the way up. Would definitely recommend a visit.

Arrived for first Sunday morning tour. Tour guide Chris was very informative. Fascinating place and well worth a visit. On the way down it was quite slippery in places, so take it steady. You will be out of breath on the way up, lots of steps. Thank you Chris.

Lovely tour guide, knowledgeable and interacted with all members of our part. Lots of steps haha but the entire experience was well explained and didn't feel rushed at all. It's definitely worth a visit !

Super day out. My son aged 9 absolutely loved this. The guide was superb tour lasts an hour just the right amount of time. The area is very pretty I would recommend taking decent walking shoes or old trainers as Mam Tor is next door as well as lots of nice walking routes (we didn't take ours)

Absolute highlight was the formation of blue John that looked like the uk

Excellent experience, staff were welcoming, friendly & the guide, Paul who fascinated us with his knowledge guiding our small group through the cavern was fantastic!

• Well behaved dogs allowed. • Not advised for those who are not fit and able. • Small children/babies are advised to be in carriers (we understood why on the way down). Continue reading for detailed review: The route down is steep. The stairs are damp in parts and you really do need to hold the railings. Myself and my husband are fit and able, our toddler was amazing and managed the whole way down and most of the way up (stopping to catch breath). It is not advised if you have cardiac issues or breathing issues, as well as knee or hip/leg issues. You can take pictures when you stop at each point. Filming is NOT allowed at all. Our guide Tony was great. He was very knowledgeable and was great with our toddler too. He was very considerate and made regular stops so those who aren't as fit could catch their breath. The cavern is incredible. It is made of so many different elements and seeing the Blue John Stone within the cave is really something special. We had a great time and would recommend it! Reasonably priced as well given the safety risks.

Wonderful and insightful tour of a deep cave. The network of potholes, mines and natural caverns is a true wonder and was carefully described by our knowledgable guide, Richard. 300million years of geological history, fossils and the unique blue John mineral is laid bare within what is still a working mine.

Worth a visit! Our tour guide George was great, he was friendly and very knowledgeable. Theres a lot of steps so bare that in mind

Nigel was extremely informative and good fun during the tour.

A great experience! Richard was the best guide in the land- me and tim had lots of fun learning about the cave from him.

Had such an amazing tour. Nigel was so knowledgeable and engaging. Thank you

Amazing views, hacking and cave

Excellent tour and very informative by our tour guide Nigel! Really enjoyed it! 2 adults and a 4 year old.

We went on the tour yesterday (group of 3) with tour guide George and he was brilliant! I knew we were getting value for money the second we went in with him. Very passionate character and clued up about everything, delivering it all articulately and Attenborough esq.. He let the tour run smoothly with brilliant history and facts as well as question opportunities. I last went as a kid but it was great to be back and appreciate so much history of blue john. Loving the peak district and hiking i do, it was a no brainer to do something that heavily ties in with it all. Great runaround dog too! Impressed with it all, Value for money and spring in my step 👏🏼 - Joe Also helped by time of year/day and just my small group.

Visited Blue John Cavern on 22nd December with my husband. Our tour guide is Nigel. His deep knowledge of the cavern and its history is truly remarkable. His passion for the cavern and its unique heritage is inspiring. It’s wonderful to see someone so dedicated. He was friendly and engaging. It made the tour so enjoyable for us. Highly recommended.

Would highly recommend a visit to the Blue John Cavern, a really interesting day out, with quite a magical feel once inside the mines Richard, our guide, was incredibly knowledgeable and interesting, with a clear passion for the mines and their fascinating history.

Had a great time walking around. The tour guide Nigel was lovely and allowed us to take pictures and ask questions. The tour was very informative and interesting. Would highly recommend to anyone with a sense of adventure to visit. I'd advise waking boots as it can become slippery.

Never open at the correct times. Visited three times over the same week and waited 30-60 minutes before giving up and climbing nearby Mam Tor as they were not open even though they said they were.

A great day out. I enjoyed the scenery, it's peaceful. I wish I could live out here. The blue John Cavern though is a great little place to visit. I last visited probably 20 years ago, and this being my second visit was a pleasant experience just like last time. I do reccomend you visit. There's some nice country pubs not too far away too

Great experience. Very knowledgeable staff/ tour guide’s.

Thank you to George for a fascinating, informative and lively tour of this historic cave system today 🙌🏻 highly recommended.

Really nice place to visit quite busy but lovely Staff very informative Sarnie shop over the road make lovely food and brought it out to us very kind

Our tour guide Nigel was lovely and very knowledgeable, with a great sense of humor to! Very interesting place to visit, a must if in the area. The history was captivating. Dog friendly to. We managed to get tickets and just in time a tour was just starting, but can imagine in warmer / busier times would be best to pre book if thats an option, so you dont miss out :)

Great experience, very knowledgeable guide

Great tour, Nigel obviously loves geology and science in general, he was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, which makes all the difference. The cave is spectacular in its own right.

George is a credit to the guide team, lovely man lovely tour. Well informed.

Fantastic! Well worth the visit

Amazing cave with millions of years of history trapped inside. Stiill in use today to create beautiful artwork and crafts you can buy in the gift shop! Our fantastic tour guide George was very knowledgeable and captivated us! Dog friendly, too, although it can be steep and slippery!

Excellent tour, really interesting, a must-see attraction for your your time in the area. Gift shop is poor, only accepts cash for under £5 purchases......what world is this ?? Haha

Fantastic experience today visiting blue John Cavern. Amazing place to go to learn a piece of history. Love conversation with our tour guide Richard, with who we were discovering new unusual bits of cavern. Truly recommend.

Richard was a great guide. He was very informative and our group had a few laughs along the way. The cavern is super impressive and it surprised me how deep it goes. I'd definitely recommend and will be going back to take the young ones.

Well it is hard to describe how good this tour was in words. Nigel - tour guide, comedian and fountain of knowledge. He had us I. Stitches with his northern humour and well rehearsed jokes. We had a lovely tour and Nigel is to thank.

It was a great informative tour done by Tony! He has been mining since he was 14, in the very caves we explored. Great to hear the stories and we appreciate his humor :) I advise to call the number in the website to inquire the start time of the guided tour and plan ahead

Richard was our tour guy! What a wonderful guy! He was super knowledgeable and sweet! The cave was extremely cool and awesome!

Had a lovely time visiting the cave, the tour guide, Nigel, made it a fun and exciting tour.

Our guide was entertaining, factual and had a good flow about him as he gave us the tour around the Cavern. An interesting visit made all the better for Nigel's guide abilities.

The tour was £18 and started at the small shop set in-front of the cavern entrance. We were lucky to turn up 5 mins before buying our ticket from inside the shop. The shop itself has many gifts, ice creams, drinks to buy. After a quick safety brief by the guide we headed in. The tour lasted about an hour and was extremely informative and enjoyable. A history of blue stone and the cavern origins were very interesting and delivered really well. The cavern was not like anything I expected and was pretty hairy at time when’s navigating the tight passage ways and steep steps! There were two instances of the group smashing their head on the low ceiling. There are many many steps so be prepared or warned if you suffer from anything that could cause health issues with walking up and down or even exhaustion problems. I would definitely recommend checking it out and taking in the view from the opposite mountain.

Unique. A fascinating hour descending into the earth and learning about history and geology.

Fantastic family experience. Nigel, our tour guide, was very informative and the kids were fascinated. Beautiful jewellery in the gift shop as well.

Well worth a visit. Great Tour Guide who was really informative. Well worth a visit. The steps are as bad as I thought.

Perfect place to visit with kids. Very friendly staff that make the visit enjoable

A really good tour today, thanks Nigel our tour guide.

Great tour and guide was very informative (I can't remember his name sorry but we visited 13th Oct 12.45pm) Thank you!

Lovely experience at the Cavern. Our tour guide Richard was great! Very informative, and enthusiastically answered all our questions. Brilliant tour, he needs a raise! A beautiful atmosphere and an interesting history. Thank you very much ☺️

Really enjoyed the experience in these caverns. Such an incredible atmosphere and especially enhanced by our tour guide Richard. He provided a lot of information, pointed out all the interesting spots and answered our many questions. Great easy going guy. Thanks very much 👍

Bit on the steep side for cost of admission, but the general experience of this area is wonderful. The people at the cafe/shop here and down the hill are really lovely and it's such a beautiful place.

We had a wonderful time and Richard our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly with our kids. Thanks 👍🏽

Great experience and journey inside the cave. We are grateful to Mr. Nigel for his wonderful company guiding us end to end. His explanation and great detailing made it an absolute worth to visit. I would recommend this place a must to visit for the people travelling in the peak district.

Just had a tour here - absolutely brilliant. Our tour guide (Richard) was great; extremely knowledgeable. Definitely recommend.

What a fascinating backstory to Blue John as a mineral and the history of the Cavern. My wife has Yorkshire heritage and has always been fond of Blue John, so on our recent trip to visit her family in the UK, I am glad she took me to this special place. The guide we had was a mine of information (pun intended) and had the odd joke or twenty. My wife and I found the walk down and back quite moderate (we are both 60) just make sure you have sturdy shoes and follow the guide's instructions. There are some amazing surprises along the descent and ascent, which our guide highlighted. The gift shop has some nice items. Overall I think it is well worth a visit.

Fascinating and awe inspiring with a very informative guided tour led by George. Well worth a visit. Followed up during visit to Chatsworth on following day where we saw some beautiful articles in varieties of Blue John stone.

Difficult to reach if you are less mobile

Nigel was a fabulous tour guide this afternoon. Unfortunately, we missed parts of the talk due to screaming children. If you're planning to bring young kids, please be mindful of the experience of others, as the acoustics of the cave amplify noise and make it difficult for everyone to hear. Definitely worth a visit!

Nigel was a phenomenal tour guide. His passion and knowledge for the role shone through while he spoke. Blue John, we never knew about you before, but now we are fascinated!

Most unusual stone. Nowhere else like it. My pendant may be certain colours but it works with most any colour I wear!

Geologically spectacular. Access via many steep steps, so you need to be reasonably fit. Guides very knowledgeable and friendly. Surface amenities a bit basic. Hot drinks and snacks, but instant coffee from kettle.

This was a great tour. So interesting and our tour guide Nigel was so knowledgeable and made the tour a lot of fun!

I've visited all the caverns in Castleton including Poole's cavern in Buxton and this one is the best. Our guide, Nigel was very informative and highly entertaining. Can't fault the place.

Didn't go in the caves but drive their and views we're amazing and weather brilliant highly recommend

Caves are magical, tour guide not so great. He just wanted to follow his script with no interruptions, so don't ask him a question!!! I could have understood if it was a large group but no.....there was 4 of us from the same family. Very disappointing

Richard was fantastic tour guide. We did the last tour of the day (3pm) and it was just the two of us. It was really great to see all the fossils, learn history and be shown all the features or the rocks and calcium deposits mixed with the minerals. Really great experience .

A Fascinating location with good access to parking as well as nearby trails if you so desired a trek after delving deep into the caverns, also with access to toilets if needed and handmade goods created from resources gathered locally in their caverns

Brilliant experience going down 245 steps (70m) into the mine. The guide, Richard, was excellent, well informed and very pleasant. Would thoroughly recommend for anyone sure footed and fit enough to climb back up. The pace was good with plenty of rest stops on the way back up. I wouldn't recommend for anyone claustrophobic as some bits are quite narrow and low.

The tour and guide were excellent, we had the pleasure of George taking us down the caves. He was such a good guide and made everything so interesting. The price was a little high in my opinion and the shop could have a little bit more in the way of snacks. Also the two ladies seemed ‘bored’ and didn’t give a welcoming feel when entering the shop. A little bit of George’s energy and enthusiasm would make it a more welcoming place.

We did this tour as a last minute thing whilst staying at a campsite in Hope Valley, Nigel our tour guide was very knowledgeable and interesting with a sense of humour! It can be quite steep, wet and narrow in places, the steps back up can also be challenging but Nigel did stop at various points for people to catch their breath, would definitely recommend 😊

Beautiful location and a great vibe. Check out the shop to pick up some exclusive stones on sale

Fascinating experience. Guide and staff were excellent and went above and beyond. Can’t praise the whole team highly enough. Many thanks.

Great experience, fantastic tour guide

The caves were beautiful, and our guide Nigel made the trip even more enjoyable with his knowledge and jokes. Highly recommend, as photos don’t do it justice!

Really interesting tour through the caves. Our guide Richard was very informative.

A fabulous visit with a great guide

It's a very nice place . Easy to do even for my 75 year old mother-in-law and my dog little pug

Bein couple times now some great veiws from the various paths can see for miles

An hour spent in the cave with a knowledgeable guide. Well spent time.

Going down is fine, but be prepared for the return trip. If you're not comfortable with 240 stair steps in one go it can be exhausting!

Last went with school , nice reminder my grandson loved it

Very interesting and informative, our guide was Tony, however heed his advice it's 247 stairs each way! And they are steep!

Called in, but soon left £53 would have been the cost for 2 adults and a kid for a trip of less than an hour. Surely prices like this are going to put people off? You can get the entire day in National trust properties including guided tours for less! Shame as I have the blue john from when I visited with my aunt in the early 90's... unless they seriously reconsider their business model we won't be back.

Was a great experience for the whole family, we had an amazing tour guide: George!

Excellent tour by George very informative and interesting to listen to, thank you 😊

Brought my 11 year old for a trip down memory lane. Fascinating to see the cavern again and learn so much about the history of our peak district. If your lucky enough to get George as you're guide, you're in for a treat. Absolutely brilliant!

Our Guide was a very knowledgeable person called Chris, he answered every and all questions, and is a witty guy as well. The caverns are absolutely amazing And very interesting, a 100% must visit for everyone. Myself and my wife thoroughly enjoyed it

Really good. Had a great tour down the cavern, very informative, a really nice tour guide. Good little shop.

I went when I was a kid about 40 years ago and decided to go back in August 2024. At £19 it’s pricey and I think there’s better caves to visit, the Blue John is interesting but you only see it in one part of the descent, one single patch, presumably it’s been extensively mined now. Don’t expect any large expansive caverns with stalagmites and stalactites, it isn’t like that at all. I’d give it 3.5/5 really but I think 4/5 would be too generous so went with 3/5 given you can’t give half marks. Glad we went but I won’t be going back in another forty years!

Much thanks to our guide George, we had a great time and the kids all enjoyed it!!!

Nigel our tour guide was very knowledgeable and helpful.

It is really interesting to see the mine and hear the history. Didn't see as much of the blue John seams as would have liked.