Cave Dale (sometimes spelt Cavedale) is a dry

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

valley in the

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

, England. It is located at grid reference . The northern end of the dale starts at the village of Castleton where the valley sides are almost perpendicular and over in height. The dale rises gently after leaving Castleton for approximately before becoming steeper culminating in a fine viewpoint down the dale taking in

Peveril Castle Peveril Castle (also Castleton Castle or Peak Castle) is a ruined 11th-century castle overlooking the village of Castleton in the English county of Derbyshire. It was the main settlement (or ''caput'') of the feudal barony of William Peverel, kn ...

with

Lose Hill Lose Hill lies in the Derbyshire Peak District. It is the south-east corner of the parish of Edale and the end of the Great Ridge that runs from Rushup Edge to the west (over Mam Tor, Hollins Cross and Back Tor). Local access activist G. H. B ...

behind (see picture). After the viewpoint the dale swings west and levels out with gentle gradients, becoming just a shallow depression as it peters out onto the open pastureland between Castleton and

Chapel-en-le-Frith Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the upperland areas between the Saxon lands (belo ...

. Cave Dale was initially formed by

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

meltwater carving a deep narrow valley in the local soluble limestone. The river then found a route underground leaving a dry valley with

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

rns underneath. Later on the caverns below Cave Dale collapsed making the valley even deeper and gorge-like at the northern end. The Castleton entrance to Cave Dale had a narrow

natural arch A natural arch, natural bridge, or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, coastal cliffs, fins or stacks are subject to erosion ...

as recently as 200 years ago, a relic of the roof collapse. The lower slopes of the dale have large amounts of

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. Talus deposits typically ...

, frost on the higher limestone cliffs having caused the rock to shatter. Halfway up the valley is an outcrop of

basaltic lava A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include ...

with a few small columns. Cave Dale, Derbyshire

A bridleway runs the entire length of the dale, part of the Limestone Way footpath which travels 80 kilometres from Castleton to Rocester in Staffordshire. Cave Dale is accessed through a narrow rocky opening almost from the centre of Castleton, and Peveril Castle is seen high up on the almost vertical western slopes. The

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

chose this site because the steep sides of Cave Dale gave a natural defence and good lookout. The chambers and caves of Peak Cavern run directly below Cave Dale and any small streams in the dale quickly disappear into the ground down limestone fissures and into the caverns beneath. Mineral veins can also be seen within the limestone of the dale. The cliffs at the northern end of Cave Dale are used by

rock climbers Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically an ...

and there are several routes in the Very Severe category. There are several small caves or old

lead mines Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, l ...

within the dale's limestone walls, one being larger than the rest with bars preventing access. Cave Dale's steep north-facing grassy slopes are damp and

bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in s ...

-rich and are dominated by oat grass ('' Trisetum flavescent'') and

sheep's fescue ''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla''). General description It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pastur ...

(''Festuca ovina''). Lesser meadow-rue (''

Thalictrum minus ''Thalictrum minus'', known as lesser meadow-rue, is a perennial herb in the family Ranunculaceae that is native to Europe, Northwest Africa, Yemen, Ethiopia, South Africa, Southwest Asia, and Siberia. It grows on sand dunes, shingle, coastal roc ...

'') grows extensively on ledges in the dale. At the southwestern extremity of the dale as it merges into the moorland between Castleton and

Peak Forest Peak Forest is a small village and civil parish on the main road the ( A623) from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Chesterfield in Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 335. The village grew from the earlier settlement of ...

are the remains of several old lead mines. The Hazard Mine lies at grid reference , and was one of the major mines of the area. Over 5000 tonnes of lead ore were mined and the main shaft goes down . The Hollandtwine Mine lies to the east. Drainage from both mines went directly into Peak Cavern. In 1983 Cave Dale was the scene of the murder of a 21-year-old Manchester Polytechnic student, Susan Renhard. Norman Smith, a local 17-year-old, was subsequently gaoled for life at

Nottingham Crown Court Nottingham Crown Court, or more formally the High Court of Justice and Crown Court, Nottingham is a Crown Court and meeting place of the High Court of Justice on Canal Street in Nottingham, England. The building also accommodates the County Cou ...

in 1984. Cave Dale features in the films ''

The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...

'' (1987) and ''

The Other Boleyn Girl ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001) is a historical novel written by British author Philippa Gregory, loosely based on the life of 16th-century aristocrat Mary Boleyn (the sister of Anne Boleyn) of whom little is known. Inspired by Mary's life s ...

'' (2008).

Notes

References

* *{{cite book, title=Lead Mining in the Peak District , first1=Trevor D. , last1=Ford , first2=J.H. , last2=Rieuwerts , date=1983, publisher=Peak District National Park Authority, isbn=0-901428-25-6 Landforms of Derbyshire Climbing areas of England Valleys of the Peak District Canyons and gorges of England