The Blue John Stone Experience at Treak Cliff Cavern (Half Day/3 hours)

This Experience gives you the opportunity to work with our craftsmen and gives you a 'hands on' unique experience of Blue John Stone, not available anywhere else. This is the only place in the world where you will be allowed to explore in the mines and work with specialist Blue John craftsmen. You will get suited and booted and expect to get muddy, as we take you underground to prospect for your very own piece of Blue John mineral. Once you have discovered your piece we will take you into the workshop, where our Craftsmen will help you clean and assess what you have found. You will then have the choice to turn your chunk of Blue John into a polished or natural specimen to take home. Included in the Experience is the Self guided Audio Tour of Treak Cliff Cavern on your own smartphone. In November and December this has a seasonal Christmas twist. With an App previously downloaded onto your Smart phone, you follow a marked route through the cavern, with the information delivered to your phone via Blue tooth beacons as you move along. Our tours are designed to meet the new Good To Go standard introduced by Visit Britain after the Corona-virus lock-down. Entry times and online booking limit slots to your group only, so you effectively have a socially distanced private tour. enabling you to focus on the stunning cave and the audio tour, and the Christmas lights and themes (Nov and Dec). The walking tour lasts around 1 hour and you can stop, take photographs and gaze at the rocks around you !! You will see the Underground Wonderland of stalactites and stalagmites, rocks, minerals and fossils, and our beautiful unique Blue John Stone!
Be aware we are on a steep hillside so there is no wheelchair access to or inside the Cavern, and some areas underground are low and narrow. We look forward to welcoming you!

Itinerary

Arrive at the Cavern buildings for 10.30 am to be greeted by your host for the day who will show you the museum and workshops. Our friendly staff will help you decide in which order to do the various elements of your Experience: prospecting in the mining areas for your Blue John Stone; taking the Audio Tour, washing and sorting your finds from prospecting; workshop time with the craftsmen to create your polished Blue John Stone. Before you arrive, please download the Situate app from the App store, so you can read about Treak Cliff Cavern in advance of your visit if you want to. REMEMBER you may want to bring a portable power bank, headphones or Bluetooth earpiece to use with your smartphone or tablet when you come to visit. We look forward to welcoming you !!
National Park Experiences is a curated collection that brings the stories of our National Parks to life. Each experience offers an authentic insight into the landscape and special qualities of a National Park.