Speedwell Cavern, Derbyshire, England, UK
Posted by: 
GeoRams
N 53° 20.498 W 001° 47.524
30U E 580421 N 5910955
The Speedwell Cavern is one of the four show caves in Castleton, Derbyshire, England.
Waymark Code: WM2CR9
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/13/2007
Views: 98
Speedwell Cavern.
It consists of a horizontal lead miners' adit (a level passageway driven horizontally into the hillside) leading to the cavern itself - a limestone cave. The lower part of the adit and the floor of the cavern are permanently flooded, which results on Speedwell Cavern's (locally unique) feature : the visitor makes the journey into the cave by boat (originally legged through by the guide, but now powered by an electric motor).
At the end of the adit, the visitor alights from the boat and walks into the cave to see the fluorspar veins, the stalactites and stalagmites, and the so-called 'Bottomless Pit'.
A connection was discovered in 1999 between the Speedwell Cavern System and Titan, the largest natural cave in the UK, which is 141.5 metres (464 feet) high.