Devil's Cavern also known as Peak Cavern or as the Devil’s Hole and a rather ruder variation, is a cave system near Castleton in Derbyshire. It’s not quite as famous as Speedwell Cavern that is not very far away, or the Blue John Caves that are also in the same region. But it IS perfectly spectacular. The cave entrance IS the largest cave entrance in Britain. It does have a little stream coming out of it that was called the Styx, and was the site of a rope-making industry until the mid-Victorian era when it all closed down. It’s well worth a visit if you’re ever in Derbyshire, as is Castleton, a lovely town, built on a hill, and mostly of the gritstone that Chrístõ is so enthusiastic about.

The idea that Sammie would be familiar with the place isn’t a huge stretch of the imagination. Wigan is only fifty miles from Castleon, and takes, according to Multimap.com, a little over an hour and a half to travel between. It is perfectly feasible that his granny could have lived there.

The Castle Inn, is a real pub in Castleton that has been there for at least a century. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the best modern reputation. But I can’t help that. It was a good place for a reunion with Chrístõ’s friend from the very first Theta Sigma story. Freddie Brett was always going to be a reliable country doctor, and so he proved to be. He dealt reasonably well with the fact that Chrístõ didn’t look a day older than he did thirty-odd years ago and proved useful later on when they had to fight for the survival of the Devil’s Cavern boggarts – Humphrey’s relatives on Earth.

Basilisks – another creature that JK Rowling hijacked, along with boggarts. But this time she was a bit closer to the truth, getting their shape and their legend about right. My basilisk also has a poisoned bite and the ability to emit a powerfully bright light. The light, is what is killing the cave boggarts, which is why it has to go.

A twist, perhaps inevitable, has Freddie as the hero in the end, while Chrístõ is knocked for six by the electrical discharge and needs CPR from his modern day friends to recover. He can’t be right every time..

 

http://www.derbyshireuk.net/castleton.html

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/48/4820/Castle/Castleton

http://www.peakcavern.co.uk/inside-cave.html

http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/visits/peakcav.php

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/basilisk.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilisk