Why is Castleton a honeypot site?
Castleton gets over 2 million visitors a year and the reason for this I think is because, Castleton has everything a visitor would want, such as picturesque scenery, a ancient Norman castle, Caverns, enjoyable walks and a pretty village. However, as a consequence of its beauty it has a lot of tourists, even in winter, and in summer and at weekends you must be prepared to deal with large crowds. The two main attractions of interest, apart from the castle, are Cave Dale and the Caverns. As you climb up the dale towards a cavern you can get a view of Peveril castle. In the caverns they used to, and in winter some times still do, mine for Blue John, Blue John is a semi-precious stone found only in the Peak District, North Derbyshire, England. Discovered there by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago. It is now the rarest natural formation in the British Isles and one of the rarest in the world.
The origin of the name is uncertain. It may be a miner’s difficulty to pronounce it correctly, which is the French 'Bleu-Jaune', referring to the blue and yellow colours found in the stone.
Peveril Castle
Peveril Castle stands in an impregnable position on a clifftop above Castleton, flanked by the steep side of Cavedale. It is an evocative place, with an impressive view in all directions and sufficient ruined remains to construct a good idea of how the castle looked in its prime.
The castle bears the name of William Peveril, who was granted the title of bailiff of the Royal Manors of the Peak in effect the King's agent for the Royal Forest of the Peak, after the Norman conquest of 1066. Peveril is thought to have been an illegitimate son of William I. Peveril created Castleton and in 1080 he fortified the site of the present castle and constructed a wooden keep. Later, these buildings were converted into stone. However, Peveril's son (also called William) became too independent for Henry I, and in 1155 the King confiscated the Peveril estates and the castle has belonged to the Crown or the Duchy of Lancaster ever since.
Henry I visited Castleton several times, to hunt and, on one occasion, to meet King Malcolm of Scotland, who paid homage to Henry here in 1157. The court records show that an enormous amount of wine was consumed on this occasion!
The castle fell into disuse after Tudor times, and by the 17th century only the keep was in use - as a courthouse. When this was abandoned the castle gradually became ruined until what remained was restored this century.
You enter the castle up a very steep climb from Castleton, but this was not the original main approach, which went up Goosehill and zig-zagged up the hill to approach along the ridge above Cavedale which reaches towards the keep. Peveril dug a breach in this ridge to create a moat which had a wooden bridge across it. Sadly, this bridge has gone and not been replaced.
The Castleton entrance leads in through the remains of a gatehouse which was built in the 12th century and into the main courtyard of the castle. Around this is the remains of a curtain wall, which was constructed in early Norman times by the Peverils, and includes Roman tiles which presumably were taken from the ruins of the Roman fort at Navio (Brough). Dominating the site are the remains of the keep, which was built by Henry I in 1176 and is relatively well preserved. The keep was originally about 60 feet high and was faced with fine gritstone blocks, which still remain on the east and south sides. It dominates the view across both Castleton and Cavedale below. Inside the courtyard it is possible to trace the foundations of a Great Hall and kitchens and other buildings, but it is the view across the surrounding countryside which is the finest feature of the visit.
Treak Cliff Cavern
Treak Cliff cavern is higher up the old Mam Tor road and contains a range of nice stalactite and stalagmite formations. The cavern is open all year . The cave was originally a mine, dug mainly to mine Blue John, which is still mined here. The initial sections of the cave pass through the old mine workings and veins of Blue John (which is a fluorspar discoloured by blue and yellow impurities, much used for jewellery) can clearly be seen in the walls. In 1926 the miners broke through into natural caverns beyond, and these have some fine natural formations, which have been christened by names such as the Frozen Waterfall and Alladin's Cave.
Also a reason for it attracting tourists would be its accessibility it is within a half an hours drive from Sheffield and is within commutating distance from Manchester, as can be seen on the map on page 2. These pictures show the natural beauty of Castleton.
The Castleton land use map shows how Castleton has built an industry and life based upon the tourist industry in Castleton. And this pie chart shows that the majority of services designed for tourists which is what attracts them.
The services that are contained in this pie chart that is for tourists are;
- Caverns
-
Information Centre
- Outdoor shop
- Café
- Jewellers
- Gift Shop
- B&B
- Pubs
What advantages has tourism brought to Castleton?
Tourism has brought advantages to Castleton such as:
- Jobs have been created
- Crime has reduced as a result
- More money can be spent on services
- The economy has grown because of the injection of cash flow.
Figure 1 show that tourism has brought some services to Castleton that are mixed and so can be used by the locals and the tourists, such as the pubs. Also the surveys carried out on the locals and tourists shows what good things the tourism has brought to Castleton.
This chart shows that people taking day trips to Castleton spend an average of £15.37 per vehicle. The graph pie chart shows the breakdown of this expenditure.
For "tourist villages" like Castleton to be successful they need to provide a range of services and amenities which cater for the needs of the visitor. Gift shops and cafes are often more profitable as a business than shops selling everyday goods to local people. Therefore in Castleton the number of tourist shops are in the majority and there are much fewer shops catering for residents. Shops catering for residents a few small general stores which only sell a limited range of goods. There is no butcher, bakery or chemist. Residents often have to journey to the bigger towns on the edge of the Peak District to do their essential shopping. However, the local economy does benefit considerably from visitors spending money in tourist shops and this provides Castleton with a greater level of employment than in other villages of similar size.
This pie chart shows what the tourists do during their time at Castleton, which is mainly visiting the natural and man-made attractions in the area. And in which areas they supply employment for the local residents.
What disadvantages has tourism brought to Castleton?
During busy periods, large numbers of visitors can cause problems both to the local residents and to the tourists themselves. Large numbers of visitors during busy periods has a big effect on resident's privacy. At these times local people have very little peace and quiet as their village is almost over-run by visitors.
Traffic congestion is a big problem. Despite its large car park during peak periods the parking provision is not enough for visitors.
The resulting congestion spoils the beauty of the village and affects its enjoyment by all. More or bigger car parks may solve the problem but then again, may not be the solution as this could increase the number of visitors causing more problems. Public transport schemes are being developed and improved in the hope of encouraging visitors to leave their cars at home, and use public transport or other means of transport.
This chart shows which car parks tourists leave their cars in during their time at Castleton, and from this we can predict many of them are visiting the attractions in the area because they are parked in the attractions car parks.
This chart shows that when the tourists have arrived in Castleton how long they stay in the town.
There are over 3,500 footpaths in the Park providing a total of over 2,000 miles of tracks and paths. Increased heavy use by walkers, horse riders and mountain bikers has led to considerable erosion of paths in many areas.
Improvement schemes such as resurfacing paths in local stone or re-routing certain paths have been necessary to halt the damage caused. Some of these measures will only provide a temporary solution if the number of visitors continues to increase at the rate it is currently doing so.
This is a house that is being sold on and is one of the cheapest houses at current being sold around the Castleton area.
Castleton-4 Bed Detached House Offers Around £395,000
This proves that Castleton is a honeypot because house prices are extortionate because of the great demand to live in the area; also people may want to buy the property to convert into a business, which will be highly profitable in the spring and summer season.
