Changes to COVID-19 Restrictions on 19 July at Creswell Crags

The Government’s relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions on 19 July comes after what has been an undeniably difficult 16 months for all visitor attractions, including Creswell Crags. The Creswell Heritage Trust has only been able to survive this period through the rescue funding put in place for heritage organisations and the wonderful and generous contributions from our donors.

We will continue to work to ensure our site is COVID-safe whilst maintaining our high standards and pride in our interactions with our visitors, and their engagement with our site. Feedback from our visitors has shown that the overwhelming majority of people feel positively toward the measures in place and have welcomed the opportunity for personal “bubble” tours of our caves.

Easing social distancing and COVID-19 measures.

As an organisation, we take our commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our staff and visitors very seriously. A recent study into the feelings of visitors to attractions indicates a sizable majority (75%) do not feel ready for the relaxation of social distancing and other protective measures (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, Decision House, 30 June 2021).

As we move forward, a full reopening and recovery of our income generation model is important, but the safety and comfort of our visitors, staff and volunteers will always be paramount. Like other attractions, we have taken a cautious approach, with COVID-safe measures in place throughout, and ‘Good to Go’ accreditation from Visit Britain. As a sector, this caution has paid off. Public Health England state that there have been no verifiable cases of Coronavirus transmission at visitor attractions in the UK since the start of the pandemic.

Taking this, and government guidance, into account, we will be maintaining the following measures beyond 19 July:

• Maintain reduced capacity in our indoor spaces to avoid crowds
• Maintain the requirement for visitors to pre-book onto cave tours, especially at weekends, whilst also allowing some
• Time slots to be available for ‘walk-ups’
• Maintain social distancing on site, though this will be reduced to 1m
• Advise visitors to wear a face covering indoors
• Provide hand sanitiser at several locations around the building
• Continue to provide access to the toilets from outside the building
• Continue with an enhanced cleaning regime

Further information on what to expect at Creswell Crags after 19 July: 

Cave Tours

We are still running private, social bubble/household cave tours for up to 6 people in Robin Hood’s Cave (Life in the Ice Age Tour or Witch Marks Tour) and up to 4 people in Church Hole (Rock Art tour). Booking for these tours over the summer holidays will go live on our website week beginning 19 July.
If you are happy to mix with other households on a cave tour, we will run one tour per cave, per day, which you can book onto as an individual/small group; please note that the maximum capacity of these tours will be the same as the private tours, and there may be points during the tour where socially distancing with others on the tour may be difficult. These tours can also be booked online; please see our website for details.
We continue to ask all visitors on our cave tours to wear face coverings unless medically exempt, and to always respect 1m+ social distancing from our tour guides, thank you.

Gorge Tours

During August, we will offer walking tours of the gorge, starting outside the Visitor Centre entrance and ending at the far end of the gorge. On the way, your guide will tell the story of our site, from the formation of the rock 260 million years ago, to the construction of our new Visitor Centre in 2009, and everything in between!
Tours run at set times throughout the day, and can be booked at Reception on the day (maximum of 15 places per tour).
Each tour will last approximately 50 minutes, and involve a walk of approximately half a mile in length over gently undulating paths; this route is accessible to those with push-chairs/wheelchairs/mobility scooters/etc. £5 per adult, with children joining for free (please note that all children must be accompanied by an adult.

Café and Shop

We will bring back a limited number of tables and chairs inside the café
A one way system will remain in place in the café and we ask that social distancing is maintained, of at least 1m
There will still be screens at our counters to separate staff from customers
There will remain a large number of outside chairs and tables, including under an awning for adverse weather, which are cleaned and sanitized between customers
We will remove the one way system from our gift shop, but we will still allow larger circulating space for customers, to make social distancing possible.

Please do not visit us if you, or anyone in your family has been asked to self-isolate, has tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 14 days, or has the symptoms of COVID-19. 

Creswell Heritage Trust extends heartfelt thanks to our visitors for your ongoing support and for helping us to keep you, and our valued staff and volunteers, safe.

We will share updates on any change to COVID-19 measures, as well as our programme of activities and events, via our social media and website. If you have questions ahead of our visit, please do contact us via Facebook Messenger, email, or call 01909 720378.