Creswell Crags is open weekends only in November, December and January – including car park, museum, gift shop, cafe and cave tours. We have school bookings midweek.  We advise pre-booking your cave tour as places are limited, but if there are spaces left you can book at Reception on the day. For events please read the listing carefully to see if pre-booking is needed. 

Our car park gates open at weekends from 9am to 4.30pm. You will still be able to leave after this time, as the gates open automatically as a car approaches on the inside. The Visitor Centre facilities, and museum, are open on weekends from 10am and close at 4.30pm. 

We are fully open. If you are interested in the special heritage of our site, you can pre-book a cave tour, reserve a place on the day to take part in a Gorge Tour (which does not include entering the caves), visit our museum of Ice Age artefacts and check our our special events programme, including living history events. If you are looking to spend time in nature, you can stroll through woodland and around our lake and marvel at the limestone gorge, and picnic in our Meadow. We also have a gift shop, and a café serving locally sourced food with a beautiful outside terrace. 

If you are interested in school trips, parties or group bookings, please see the relevant page of the website: in the first instance we recommend emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to have a conversation about your requirements.

We have a large car park near our Visitor Centre: follow the signs to our entrance from the road and you will arrive at our car park via our private entrance road.
Disabled spaces are directly in front of the entrance to the Visitor Centre. Please display your Blue Badge prominently. Disabled visitors do not have to pay to park. For our full access statement, please see the Access page of our website.

Our car parking spaces are intentionally wide to allow for space around your car, helping access and social distancing.

There are parking machines located in the car park. These accept payments via cash and contactless card. You must pay to park at all times (unless you are displaying a Disabled badge). You will need to enter your registration into the machine: tickets are not transferable.

It costs £4 to park for up to 3 hours and £6 to park for a full day.

We do not offer car parking discounts or concessions, however we do have an annual parking pass. This costs £15 and entitles you to park as often as you like for a year. Please ask at our front desk to purchase one.

We will honour all passes for an additional 6 months after their expiry date since you have not been able to use it during lockdown. However, if you are able to renew it at its expiry date, we very much appreciate your support.

Please call 01909 270378 for all enquiries related to parking passes. 

Yes. The main footpath around the gorge is accessed via the public bridleway from Creswell village. You can walk around the lake, and along the woodland path to our car park, from where further paths lead towards the Holbeck, the Welbeck Estate and Dukeries countryside. Another footpath leads up Crags Hill, and this remains open. However, our car park – which is gated – is only open between 9am and 5pm, and we will also lock the gates to our Meadow area at 5pm daily. Please note that our toilets are inside the Visitor Centre and therefore not open when the Centre is closed.

There are litter bins near the Visitor Centre, please use these responsibly and do not overfill them. If they are full, please report this to a member of staff. There are no litter bins in the gorge. Please bear this in mind and, if you can, please take your litter home and recycle it/dispose of it in your own dustbin. This will really help our team and protect our site.

Dogs, on leads, are very welcome at Creswell Crags for walks around the gorge and Meadow. We have dog waste bins on site and we ask that you use them. We do not allow dogs inside the Visitor Centre or café, but they are welcome on the café terrace and in outside seating areas. We sell Frozzy’s (frozen yogurts for dogs) in the café and provide fresh water for dogs on the terrace outside the café.

Please use dog waste bins responsibly, and do not leave dog waste in plastic bags by footpaths or around the bin. If the bin is full, please report this to a member of staff.

Please see our cave tours page here, which includes a link to book and all the information you need. Under 5s are not allowed to take our cave tours, and the caves are unfortunately not suitable for wheelchair users or visitors with mobility issues.

From 19 July we will run some cave tours and gorge tours with places available on a drop in basis on the day: please ask at the Welcome Desk on your arrival. You do not need to pre-book for these, but they will be first come first served. 

Unfortunately, we are no longer able to offer the same cave tours that were part of our pre-lockdown Groupon offer. You will be contacted by Groupon regarding a refund for any outstanding booked tickets that we are unable to honour. Please do not try to use them to book a cave tour, or travel to our site assuming you will be able to use them, you will not. We apologise for any disappointment caused. 

Our events programme will resume in 2021 with a mixture of online and on site events. There will be less than usual and we we closely monitor guidance for what events can be held safely. 

Please see our events page and our social media feeds for up to date information.

We have put in place a range of measures in line with best practise for preventing the spread of coronavirus. Our site has been risk assessed for both staff and visitors. We will maintain some measures after 19 July. These include: 

• screens at the front desk and café counter
• one-way system through the exhibition
• social distancing markers where queues form
• hand sanitiser around the building
• an enhanced cleaning schedule
• contactless payment for car parking
• visitors asked to wear face coverings in the Visitor Centre

Good to Go: We have been awarded the ‘Good to Go’ marque, the tourism industry’s award for high standards of health and safety.

You do not need a ticket to enter the Visitor Centre to use the toilets, café or gift shop. However, you will need to purchase a ticket to enter the museum of artefacts representing our Prehistoric heritage. This is £3 for adults and £2 for concessions, free for children. You can purchase this at the front desk.

Entry to the exhibition will be monitored and you might be asked to wait if it is busy, to ensure social distancing is possible. There will be a one way system in place through the exhibition. 

Yes. We have toilets on both levels of the Visitor Centre, including accessible toilets. Our toilets will be deep cleaned regularly. Please make sure you observe social distancing signage when using the toilets.

Baby changing facilities are available on the upper floor.

It will not be mandatory to wear masks inside after 19 July 2021 but it will be strongly recommended inside the building, particularly the shop and exhibition areas. Children under 11 are not expected to wear masks, based on the government’s guidelines. Our staff will be wearing face coverings if they are not behind a screen and are interacting with members of the public.

We will have some masks available for purchase but recommend you bring/wear your own face covering.

Yes, unless you are medically exempt from having to wear a mask or are younger than 11 years of age. We will ask you to wear a face covering the whole time you are in the cave with the tour guide. The caves are enclosed spaces and this is to keep everyone safe. Our tour guides will wear a clear visor during the tour.

Yes, it is mandatory to wear a helmet on all our cave tours. Pre-booked groups will have their own set of hard hats assigned and ready for them on arrival. All helmets will be disinfected after every use and stored separately from any helmets waiting to be disinfected.

Our ability to offer group visits will depend on your requirements. Please call or email us to discuss your needs in more detail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The rules on our site will be the same as they are in any other public space. Please check the latest government guidance on social distancing and meeting people from other households.

Our play area is open, however, the area has suffered some damage in recent wet weather and parts of it are currently roped off. Please do not cross the barriers: it is very muddy. 

We must advise visitors that they will be using the equipment at their own risk and they must remember to wash/sanitise children’s hands both before and after they touch the equipment. They should not touch their faces, or consume food and drink, whilst playing, and must be supervised at all times.

Yes, you will be able to pay with cash in our car parking machine, for tickets and in the café. However, for everyone’s safety and convenience, we would strongly prefer you to pay by contactless card where possible.

We will be taking school bookings from September onwards. However, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in the first instance, to discuss your requirements, risk assessments and availability.

Please also look out for the announcement of our new livestreamed digital package for schools, launching in September 2020.

We will be open to taking bookings for birthday parties and Life on the Edge sessions, after a discussion with you. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in the first instance, to discuss your requirements, risk assessments and availability.

We will be open to taking bookings for our venue hire spaces, after a discussion with you. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in the first instance, to discuss your requirements, risk assessments and availability.

We have one Tramper available through Derbyshire County Council Access for All. You must be registered with the Council in order to use the Tramper. Click here to find out more about the scheme.

Please call 01909 279 378 to enquire about use of, and pre-booking, the Tramper. 

We are a registered charity. You will find donation points in our building and around our outdoor site, where you can donate cash. We also have a contactless donation point in the Visitor Centre. You can also donate to us online at our JustGiving page or via our website.

If you are a UK tax payer, please say yes to Gift Aid when you book a ticket for a cave tour or buy a ticket for the exhibition. This allows us to claim additional funds from the government, at no additional cost to you.

If you have an idea for fundraising for Creswell Crags, please contact our Fundraising and Community Engagement Officer, Louise Revill: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Yes, we are always grateful to have volunteers. Please see the volunteering page of our website for the latest role availability, updates related to COVID-19 restrictions and the online application form. If you are not able to access the website, you can ask for a paper copy of the form on site.

Please be aware that there will be reduced capacity to accept volunteers in August and September, and this might result in you being placed on a waiting list.

There is no discount for National Trust or English Heritage members. We are an independent charity and are not affiliated with either organisation.

We are working in the Visitor Centre and if you call back you might be able to get through. However, most of the team are working part time and there will not be a dedicated reception service until August. In the first instance, it is best to email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or send us a message through the Creswell Crags Facebook page.