The Peak Cavern is a natural show cave located in the stunning village of Castleton in the heart of the Peak District. As well as being open for daily guided tours of the cave, it is a popular venue for concerts, film screenings, and a fantastic location for film and TV companies.
What makes the Peak Cavern such a special place? For me it is its location. Set in the heart of one of the Peak District’s most picturesque villages, I never tire of waking up the riverside path into the gorge, and turning the corner to be faced with one of the world’s most impressive cave entrances. What are your plans for the Peak Cavern in the future? We have run Peak Cavern for over 21 years and seen our visitor numbers grow to a level that has plateaued for the last 10 years or so, and we don’t see much potential for further growth in our core business (Cave tours). However, we have recently extended our lease of Peak Cavern for a further 25 years and see great potential to grow the business by developing it as a venue for hosting concerts and events. Tell us something about Peak Cavern that not a lot of people will know. Peak Cavern is owned by “The Duchy of Lancaster”, part of the Crown Estate, so in effect, Her Majesty The Queen is our landlady! How do events at Peak Cavern help to support your plans? Because events like The Village Screen’s film showings and regular music concerts all take place in the evenings outside our regular trading hours, these are a way of growing the business on top of our core operations. What’s been your favourite Village Screen event at the cave? I really enjoyed last year’s screening of Bohemian Rhapsody. It didn’t think it wasn’t going to be my sort of film, and consequently hadn’t gone to the cinema to watch it, but I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Queen’s music. The Cavern acoustics really brought the best from the soundtrack. What’s your favourite film and cinema snack? You can’t beat sweet popcorn, especially Butterkist Toffee Popcorn! What film would you like to see us screen at the cave and why? I quite fancy one of the Batman films. All the Batman films are quite dark and would lend themselves to the atmosphere in the cave. Especially with all the bats (Jackdaws) flying in and out through the screening!
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