IF a trip to the Alps isn’t on the cards for you this year, there’s a cable car and caves combo at the heart of the UK that offers an almost similar experience.
The Heights of Abraham in the Derbyshire Dales installed the UK’s first ever alpine-style cable car 40 years ago to get visitors up to its hilltop park.
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However, this year the park is celebrating its 50th anniversary, with May 20 marking the actual day that the Pugh family took over stewardship of the attraction half a century ago.
Once on top, you’ll find underground tours, play areas and woodland wanders for you and your family to enjoy.
The unique transport system cuts out the need to scramble up the steep hillside and has even inspired the likes of the London Eye and the cable car at Alton Towers.
My 11-year-old and I were blown away when we visited to find out what’s kept tourists coming back to this special spot overlooking Derwent Valley for 230 years.
Queen Victoria was an early visitor to the site, although she had to ride up on a donkey rather than a cable car.
Today, the trip to the top takes you over trees, rock formations and the river, with incredible views of the town of Matlock Bath below you and rolling countryside stretching as far as the eye can see.
But the cable car voyage is only the start of a day out with a difference deep in the Derbyshire Dales.
One of the reasons that this place has proved popular with tourists over the ages is the mix of marvellous views over five counties and the chance to delve into the old lead mines below.
Nowadays, there’s even more to explore, with two excellent outdoor play spaces, a small costume exhibition, revealing what daytrippers from different eras would have worn, and a cafe/restaurant with decking looking out over the dales.
There’s two guided cave tours included in the ticket price, offering a glimpse of the network of underground spaces that have formed over millions of years and then been mined for lead and other natural resources.
The enthusiasm of the guide showing us through the Great Masson caves was infectious and the light show at the end was spectacular.
The Great Rutland cavern towards the bottom of the site focuses more on the social history of the area, but we saved that for another day as our legs were tired from all the steps through the first cave system.
You need to be fairly fit and able to stoop at certain points to take the tour, but there are also two interesting videos at ground level for those whose health or mobility make the caves off-limits.
It’s evident that there’s been significant investment in the 50 years since the Heights of Abraham came under the stewardship of the Pugh family.
Five new water attractions opening in the UK next year
- Therme Manchester will have 25 swimming pools, 25 water slides and an indoor beach.
- Modern Surf Manchester will be a surfing lagoon offering lessons to both beginners and experts.
- Chessington World of Adventures waterpark is set to have wave, infinity and spa pools as well as waterslides and cabanas.
- The Cove Resort, Southport is likely to have a water lagoon and a thermal spa with steam rooms and saunas.
- The Seahive, Deal plans to be the “surfing wellness resort” in the UK.
All the workers we encountered, from a Victorian reenactor to the meeters and greeters to the shop staff, were warm and welcoming and went out of their way to engage my son in the surroundings.
When you’ve spent good money on a ticket, it’s rewarding to see that cash is going towards employing excellent people and introducing high quality facilities that make the most of the landscape.
We live about an hour away, but I’ve always found the ticket price a little off-putting when compared to other nearby visitor attractions like Crich Tramway Village, where you pay once and get access all year.
At the Heights, you can use a Blue Peter badge to get free child’s ticket with a paying adult, which makes a big difference to the cost of your day out, taking pre-booked entry for a family of four from £77 to £50.
We stayed for almost four hours and there was still more to do, so you could easily be here all day and keep all ages entertained.
It helped that we were there on a warm day with bursts of sunshine breaking through as there’s lots of outdoor space to enjoy and not too much to do undercover, other than the caves themselves.
But it’s worth coming for the cable car and the caves, and staying for the day.
The Heights of Abraham is on the up, even now in its 50th anniversary year.
Meanwhile, the UK’s sunniest destination has a 200-year-old attraction.
And this tourist attraction is set to reopen this summer following a £10m renovation.
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