Peak District trip suggestions for tiny cavelings (2-4 year olds)

[tdobson]

Following Katie's excellent post about caving in Yorkshire with children, I'm looking for Peak District recommendations.

I know Derbyshire reasonably well, but I may not have considered some options - particularly things I've perhaps written off as "largely uninteresting to adults" or dismissed as "just a boring bit of passage before the good stuff gets going."

I'm looking specifically for trips suitable for a 2/3/4 year old. So definitely not Giants Round Trip just yet!

Ideally looking for:
- Short trips (attention span and energy levels!)
- Interesting features that appeal to tiny humans (flowstone to touch, streams to splash in, mud to get properly covered in)
- Nothing too committing - need to be able to turn around easily
- Horizontal or very gentle slopes
- Passages where a small child can actually move themselves (even if slowly)

I'm thinking things like:
- Short sections of caves that have longer routes beyond
- Mines with easy access
- Entrance series that are interesting in their own right
- Anything where "it's rubbish for adults but brilliant for toddlers" applies

What are your go-to trips for the really little ones in the Peak District?

(For context: they're already enthusiastic about mud and darkness, have been in 20+ caves before, but there's always more options and I feel like more recommendations can be welcome)

 

[tdobson]

My caveling has been in:
- Mouldrige Mine (probably lots of options here)
- Hanging Flat (perfect!)
- Middleton Dale Mine Level 4 - Triple Hole (awesome at the moment)
- Carlswark Resurgence (recently enjoyed stomping in muddles)
- Wapping Cumberland to the second staircase
- Giants -> Basecamp chamber (getting harder at the moment as he gets heavier and needs hand-guiding down the hill, was easier with him in a carrier)
- Goodluck (mostly carrier)
- Great Douk there & back in carrier (probably not doable now)
- Valley Entrance towards the pitch (he enjoyed, I didn't like the wet bit near the start as he stayed dry whilst I got wet)
- Tilberthwaite Deep Level
- Coniston Deep Level
- Hospital Level



Other things I'm thinking:
- Devonshire (though the walk up the hill can go forth and ...)
- Bagshawe to Dungeon
- Giants Upper (in due course)
- Carlswark Gin entrance area series bit including Oyster Chamber
- also considered Silver Eye but not really ready for it yet (too committing)
- I'm certain there are other good idea in Matlock area but I don't know what they are - not Jug Holes yet.

 

[wellyjen]

Youds' Level. Starts off as a hole in a playground. Splashy walking, where they can turn back at any time. If you are large, they can point and laugh at your struggles. If you get to Old Jant Mine there are big impressive flourspar crystals.
Masson. Various routes and things to see. A lifeline on the entrance climb.

 

[tdobson]

Youds' Level. Starts off as a hole in a playground. Splashy walking, where they can turn back at any time. If you are large, they can point and laugh at your struggles. If you get to Old Jant Mine there are big impressive flourspar crystals.
Masson. Various routes and things to see. A lifeline on the entrance climb.

I don't know Matlock that well, so for a second I thought you were suggesting Gentlewoman's Shaft!

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[ChrisB]

Alderley Edge Wood Mine. Nice blue bits (but not to touch). Dry apart from occasional puddles to walk through. A couple of short (5m?) crawls that loop back into the chamber, one longer easy crawl as part of the route.

Either a routine public trip https://www.derbyscc.org.uk/alderley/trip_booking_form.php or find a DCC member who can take you in (I'm not on the list of leaders).

 

[Katie]

I think most of the places we have taken our caving kids have already been mentioned.
Carlswark, giants, hanging flat, wapping- cumberland etc.

Jugholes is pretty kid friendly if you go in and out the adit at the bottom.
Once they get a bit older you can go in the bottom, and lifeline them up the climb at the end.

Bagshawe is good. When they were smaller we tended to piggy-back them over the deep puddles on the way in to keep them dry. The Hippodrome is a good goal and gets some interesting caving in. On the way out getting a bit wet isn't so important so you can always give them the option of stomping through the puddles!

Hillocks is quite fun for small kids - in and out the oil drum entrance. Not a huge amount of caving but you can make up for it by playing some games, having a picnic etc in the cave.

Ashford black marble mine is also good for kids.

Probably one for when they get a bit bigger but we had a nice day out recently in Stoney. Parked at the sub-station and walked down the dale along the exciting cliff side path. Then did windy ledge from down-dale to up the dale. Which is easy caving but the ledge is pretty exposed with awesome views, then we did keyhole cave through trip, triple hole, then in gin entrance of carlswark and out via a ladder at eyam dale shaft.

 

[FabianE]

Holme Bank Chert Mine!
Not only have our dogs been through it, soon the little one shall explore this mine

 

[tdobson]

Gave Merlin Mine entrance series a try to mix things up. Largely went well, though the walk up/down was reasonably perilous!

He liked the grapes and gingerbread man bit.

 

[Mrs Trellis]

Re Wood Mine - the longer crawl referred to by Chris is/was known as the "crocodile crawl" on account of the monsters hiding in the shallows.
For yards/metres travelled underground for a caveling this has to be the longest - the normal figure-of-eight tourist trip is around a mile.
Crawling over sand is much more comfortable than crawling over limestone.

 

[zomjon]

I can’t believe nobody has mentioned Brightgate yet, absolutely perfect for little ones…Groaning Tor (rather than Silver Eye), Dunsley Spring and Slaley Sough. Owd Git and myself would use either Devonshire or swapping/Cumberland for the annual egg hunt.

 

[Alfexplore]

Slaley would be a drag for toddlers to reach, never mind the crawl through water on the 1st straight ! You could park near Ecton hill and go in Whey Level, then park at Swainsley Tunnel and have a look in Limepits, then walk round and have a look in Swainsley. Move car down to Weton Mill and have a look in Nan Tor Cave before taking the car a bit further down(or walk it) and go up into Thors Cave and the nearby Seven Ways and Elderbush. 2 -3 hours max to round them up !