Creswell Crags, Creswell, Worksop, Nottinghamshire
Cresswell Crags is an Archaeological Park on the borders of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire; with a deep limestone gorge, caves and rock shelters, and a museum, a day out here will fascinate and astound. You’ll come away feeling like it was a day well spent, walking through the gorge in the footsteps of woolly mammoths and prehistoric man, discovering the honeycomb of caves with witch marks and Ice Age art carved on the rock.
Excavations reveal that these caverns were once home to bears, spotted hyenas, woolly rhinoceroses, and reindeer; the museum you’ll see displays of the finds unearthed here, the stone and flint tools and the animal bones, including a baby hyena skeleton. Where else are you going to see that?
Cresswell Crags is also a place where you can be close to nature, where you can slow down and amble around on one of the walking trails, looking up and around to see what you notice. The Park is rich in flora and fauna – there are rare orchids and butterflies in the meadows in summertime, the woodland floors are carpeted with primroses, bluebells and wild garlic in the spring, birdlife abounds all around, swans and ducks feed on the lake. It makes you appreciate the simple things in life.
If you’re making a day of it here, you might like to plan it well and take a picnic; otherwise, there’s the obligatory café with indoor and outdoor seating, and there’s a gift shop where you can buy a little something to remind you of your visit.
The gorge is open 7 days a week and pre-booked group visits can be tailored to suit you.
T: 01909 720378
All information correct at the time of writing