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Creswell Crags

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ImageCreswell Crags is one of Britain’s most important archaeological sites. The dramatic limestone gorge and caves, tucked away within the gently undulating landscape on the Derbyshire / Nottinghamshire border, was the Northern edge of the Human world during the last Ice Age and was home to fantastic beasts like woolly mammoths, hyenas and woolly rhinoceros. Neanderthals, some of our earliest ancestors to inhabit Britain, visited the site to hunt and to shelter in the caves over 40,000 years ago.


During the last few years some amazing discoveries have been made at Creswell Crags. Mysterious engravings, mainly of animals, have been found on the walls and ceilings of the caves. These pictures were drawn about 13,000 years ago but remained undiscovered until 2003 and are the only known examples of Ice Age rock art in Britain. They add to our knowledge about the rich culture and fascinating life of our ancestors, which was already indicated by the animal bones and stone tools people left behind.

Over 40,000 years after people first came to Creswell Crags, the site is still attracting visitors from all over the world. Join a site tour to experience, at first hand, the gorge and caves lived in by our ancestors. Discover how people lived during the last Ice Age, the tools they made, and the art they created. Explore the gorge along lakeside paths, activity trails are available to challenge the whole family, or take a longer stroll around the local countryside. Bring a picnic and relax for a few hours around the site and museum, taking in the displays, family activities, special events and the gift shop.

Entry to the site and museum is free. There is a small charge for cave tours.
 
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Featured Attraction

The Brontë Parsonage Museum and Brontë Society. The site has information about the lives and novels of the Brontë Family and the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

 

bronte parsonage museum

 

This year's features are a special exhibition "No Coward Soul" celebrating the life and work of Emily Brontë the author of Wuthering Heights and a redisplay of Branwell Brontë's paintings. The exhibition will be the first time all of the Society's Emily collection has been on display together.

www.bronte.org.uk