I was pretty caved out by the time we visited the Blue John Cavern. 

This was the fourth cave I saw in the Peak District and the latest of several I’d visited in the UK since Covid started.

The UK is full of caves, so after a while they all start looking the same. 

The Blue John Cavern at Castleton in the Peak District is famous for its…well…Blue John Stone. Mined for centuries, due to the shortage of the stone in recent years, the mineral is now only mined in controlled amounts in the Winter months.

The pretty white, blue and purple stone is quite delicate and has to be kept away from water. Blue John is only found in the Peak District and its rarity and scarcity meant that it’s quite expensive.

A medium sized piece can cost around £40 and the quality varies from store to store. Care should be taken to avoid stones with a slight dirty yellow tinge to it.

Unfortunately the mine wasn’t similar to the seven dwarves mine at all and only one vein was visible for display purposes.

We took a 45 minute guided tour where our guide took us through a series of caverns and explained the history of Blue John.

The steps were a bit slippery so I was holding onto the railings for dear life.

The one vein on display was a little underwhelming, not that it stopped me taking photographs.

Otherwise the best part of the trip was the dog that refused to pose properly and wasn’t interested in the tour at all.

Blue John Cavern was an okay cave. I’m sure it would have been more interesting if I wasn’t so completely caverned out.