The Heights of Abraham - What WE Say...

“A cable car up to caves? Wicked!” MMM. Yes indeed. Until you see those cable cars suspended, bouncing gently in the empty air high over Matlock Bath. There was a joint parental grimace as we climbed into our cable car amidst the oh-so-excited chatter of small people. Jeepers those cars go high. And then, just as you’re prising your knuckles open to take a cautious snap or two – they stop! And sway in the breeze! Like I said: Jeepers.

But we were good parents, and kept on smiling and agreeing that “yes, it’s amazing! Yes we can see really far! Yes, the ground really is a very long way down. No, no, I’m enjoying looking at the clouds, why don’t you show Joe how teeny tiny the cars are all the way down there below us…”. And then, all of a sudden, you’re over the tree tops, the car has picked up speed and you’re there. No drop-of-death for us today then. Phew.

First stop was a reviving coffee to enjoy the incredible views across Matlock to the surrounding area whilst the smalls let off some steam on the big play area. Not that I’d advocate a cable car ride just for the purpose of reaching a playground – but it is a good one, and a great place to pause and plan your visit, as the Heights of Abraham has rather a lot to do. We decided to take the ‘easy’ cave tour first – it seems as good a place as any to start. The tour was good, if a little quick –it did feel like the guide was reading a script a little too fast. However, it was interesting and informative, and brought us out at a wonderful viewpoint on the top of the hill. We stopped to explore, and Cameron (10) discovered a small lump of Galena, which he was very excited by.

A slow walk back down the hill returned us to the main area where we explored the Heath and Heaven exhibition (we would have preferred longer, but the children weren’t terribly interested in the aerial photographs) before heading in to the ‘Who Why What’. This was far better than we expected to be honest – a static display doesn’t normally hold a young boy’s attention for long, but they were keen and interested to read the various displays, look at the old photographs and talk about the site’s history (particularly as a tourist hot spot) in ‘olden times’. The display about the cable cars, however, had them transfixed. They watched the entire reel about the construction of the large support towers, and then held their breath as they watched the Blue Peter episode showing a ‘rescue’ should a car break down (they’ve never had to do it for real, and the film was strangely reassuring on the downward journey!).The Ichyosaur fossil in the Fossil Factory was much appreciated by small boys, obviously; nearly as much as the fossil rubbing activity was for a getting-grumpy 2 yr old. The only tantrum of the day was exhibited in first class foot stomping style when we left here!

A brief stop in the café for a snack for said grumpy toddler (bananas by the till, not chocolate – bonus points scored there), and then we walked down to the Nestus Mine (a conveniently-situated playground half way provided a handy pause in the steep climb down and provided possibly the best slide of the holiday); and we were SO glad we did! Apparently 90% of visitors view the naturally formed Great Masson cavern, right at the top, but only 45% of them make the trek down the hill to the mine. They miss out on a treat – this was the highlight of our visit (cable cars aside, of course). This time the guide was just brilliant, brought the whole mine to life, and took time to answer the 432 questions from small boys. The interactive ‘show’ from the miners had the boys gripped, and was probably the cave they enjoyed most in the Peaks (and we visited a few!).

The schlep back up the steep steps was a little tough, but made easier by that handy halfway playground as a breathing spot. We didn’t climb to the Prospect Tower – we just couldn’t convince the boys it was worth it for the views, after the trek back up the hill. Instead an ice cream and a cable car ride back down to Matlock seemed to be a perfectly acceptable way to round out the day.

Take a quick squizz at the blog to see some pics from our Grand Day Out at The Heights of Abraham.

Website: www.heightsofabraham.com