Treakcliff Mine

On Tuesdays, the American spouses get together to either have tea/coffee or go on a site seeing trip.  It's one of the comforting things that I have here, to be with other Americans in the same situation as me.  And exploring the country is much easier when you're with a group.  A few weeks ago we went to the Treak Cliff Mine, which is a Blue John Mine.  We had to hike a lot of stairs to get to the mine near the top of the hill, and it was a beautiful day...the picture above was taken from up on the hillside.  Those little white specks are sheep, which we find all over Derbyshire.  It's not a rare occasion to see one crossing the road in front of your car when on a drive in the country.

Blue John Stone is a rare, semiprecious mineral found at only one location in the world - a hillside near Mam Tor, just outside Castleton, in the Derbyshire Peak District National Park, England. The name Blue John derives from the French Bleu Jaune meaning Blue Yellow. It is a form of fluorite and was discovered as miners were exploring the cave systems of Castleton for lead. Because of the layered nature of the mineral, you can get a wide variety of appearances.  Some stones are more yellow, some more purple, some blue. 

There are two mines on the hillside for this Blue John mineral.  Jewelers will take this stone, strengthen it with chemicals, and then can work it into ornaments and, more commonly today, jewelry. Because of the varied nature of the stone, every piece of art created is unique.

We went on a tour of the mine though, unfortunately as you can imagine, my photos were not very interesting or recognizable due to the darkness.  But it was a very interesting tour.  When the miners dug into the hillside, they discovered caves with their share of stalactites and stalagmites, though not as impressive as those in Howe Caverns in New York.  You could see veins of Blue John Stone in the walls of the caves.

After our tour we went down to the nearby village of Castleton, did a bit of shopping and had a delicious Carrot and Parsnip Soup lunch at a local Tea Room.  Then we had to rush home for me to pick up the kids.  It was a beautiful day for the drive, which took about an hour and a half from home.  There's lots more to see up that way, so I'm sure I'll go back with the family.