Walks, Speedwell Cave and possible ballooning

More really helpful comments from Laura (thank you, Laura, so much!)…

Little daunted by their aborted helicopter ride (and we can vouch for the beautiful day!) Laura and Andy changed their plans.

“So as an alternative to the helicopter we chose to walk around Derwent Valley and the Ladybower/Derwent Reservoirs on the Saturday, which was amazing, the views were incredible and the scenery beautiful.

I’m actually glad that we took the opportunity to walk it rather than just flying over it (although obviously gutted about missing out) as seeing it from a walker’s perspective was just un-missable.

We also took a trip to Speedwell Cavern for a boat ride through the caves, but have to admit that we were a little disappointed with that. It was fun to be in the boat and and listen to the miners’ stories, but it was more for kids and the ‘Bottomless Pit’, which you get to stand and look at for about 10 minutes was a bit of an anticlimax, but as I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you, the approach to Peak Cavern is just immense and worth a trip to Castleton for that if nothing else.

Other than the *Spa and Helicopter ride, I think the only other activity that I considered was a hot air balloon ride, but let’s be honest February probably isn’t the best time for balloon rides.

*More about the Spa experience later!