by Nothing says Christmas quite like a piece of fluorspar. At least not in the village of Castle Peak, where the unique Blue John phenomenon has been removed from the rocky hills above the village since the late 1600s and visitors began touring the caves in the Georgian period. The purple-hued mineral with its distinctive, colored veins was discovered based on the local tradition of lead mining dating back to the Romans.
However, since the late 1960s, Canon Castle has become known for something else: its festive spirit. The village, located at the head of the scenic Hope Valley between Manchester and Sheffield, is regularly voted one of the most festive places in Britain. Think lighting up the high street with illuminated Christmas trees, carol concerts and a brass band in the exhibition caves and a Norman church that hosts a community spirit Christmas tree festival to bring light to the darkest month of the year.
There are plenty of gemstone gifts to buy, but no overpriced Christmas market, or gimmicky light show, to be seen.
“In the 1700s miners sang Castle Carols, a cappella variations on traditional carols, and made offerings to T’Owd Man, a medieval miner, by lighting candles to bless the mine for the coming year,” explains Vicky Turner, director of the Treak Cliff Cavern, located on the road to the former Iron Age site of Man Tor (known locally as Shivering Mountain).
Treak Cliff has Britain’s most extensive Blue John deposit and there will be a candlelit caroling on Christmas Eve evening. “Snow, snow or flood,” says Vicky, whose family has lived in the village for a generation, “we are always about the community and the tradition.”
‘As noble as Greece or Switzerland’
The close-knit community of Canon Castle grew out of the construction of Peveril Castle, one of the earliest Norman fortresses in England. Henry II added the warden in 1176 and it became very successful for famous people to visit as a hunting lodge, a hub for the Royal Forest of the Peak. The terrible ruins still loom over the community, although today they are in the custody of English Heritage.
Below it, Peak Caves has the UK’s largest natural cave entrance and evidence of its ropemaking heritage can still be seen. When Lord Byron visited Derbyshire in the early 1800s, he declared: “Things in Derbyshire are as noble as Greece or Switzerland.” Queen Victoria was less aware, however, despite last minute efforts by locals to hide signs for Peak Cavern’s best known local name – the Devil’s Arse.
The peaks and crags around Castleton extend across a hazy horizon to Kinder Scout, the devastated 1920s treachery town that led to the establishment of the Peak District as Britain’s first National Park in 1951. It is an uncompromising terrain. but it has the beauty of winter.
“The wildlife of the winter landscape inspires me,” says Sharon Mosley of the National Park Authority over coffee at the Blueberry Café, located inside the exhibition at the Castleton Visitor Centre. “But, when I’m out walking, me, dog and flask, I always think of our ancestors, walking miles through this landscape to the mines.”
After exploring the ginnels (narrow passageways) in the oldest part of the village, bridges and shop fronts illuminated against gray winter skies, I walk over to St Edmund’s Church, its Romanesque altar arch a testament to its 1100s foundation. I feel that there are miniature Christmas trees in the middle of the church, each donated by different community groups, to bring light to the darkness of winter at this ancient, sacred site.
“Castleton thrives not on tinsel or glitz but on the true spirit of Christmas,” says Reverend Louise Petherham, who will lead her congregation across three country churches this Christmas. “My sermon will address the parallels between our lives today and the original Christmas story, suggesting that people are fundamentally good and welcome outsiders – just as members of this community have done for generations.”
The perfect gift
Blue John was first discovered by miners at Treak Cliff Cavern in 1740, the corrupted French name ‘bleu jaune’ as described by the groups of French migrant workers who came after the discovery. It is still used to make ornaments and jewellery, officially recognized as a semi-precious stone since the 1920s, and Chatsworth in nearby Bákewell has a number of historic pieces in its collection.
But I end my visit to ASD Jewelers in the village, where I can’t help but admire Anthony Darwent’s baubles. He makes handmade pieces upstairs from the shop and will be working over Christmas to fulfill orders from around the world. If I was stuck for a last minute gift, then the display cases are packed with glistening earrings, cufflinks, and brooches, but among the best sellers are the Blue John Christmas baubles – two for £28 available.
“Each piece is unique because of the veins of the colored banding,” says Darwent, dusting his hands on his apron in his bustling workshop. “It is the geological combination of limestone from Binn Bhan in the south and Binn Dorcha in the north that makes them so distinctive.”
Castletown might claim the Christmas spirit from its old-fashioned values of heritage, tradition and community, rather than Christingle bling, but no one could resist Darwent’s festive baubles. I allow myself a bit of festive retail therapy. Plus, Castletown Blue John is for life, not just for Christmas.
Where to stay
Doubles at The Maynard, Grindleford, from £90 B&B, based on two sharing (www.the-maynard.com). The family group has a new pub and rooms, The Ashford Arms (theashfordarms.com), opening in Bakewell next spring.
Cave visits
Treak Cliff Cavern is open all year round for tours (£11.50 online booking), as well as December carol concerts (www.bluejohnstone.com). There are concerts at Peak Cavern, weekends at 6pm in December (www.peakcavern.co.uk/christmas-carol-concerts).
Go there
Train travel provided by Northern on the Hope Valley Line (Northernrailway.co.uk). More information from Visit Peak District and Derbyshire (visitpeakdistrict.com).
