CATEGORY · RAINY DAY APPROVED

Caves, Mines & Underground in Leeds

There's no cave under Leeds itself, but the National Coal Mining Museum out at Wakefield gets you close: free entry, and a guided cage ride 140 metres underground into a real former colliery. For proper caverns you want a drive out to Castleton, where Peak Cavern runs a guided walk under the gorge (children from £13.75 online), Treak Cliff Cavern is a 45-minute self-guided route past Blue John stone from £8, and Speedwell Cavern takes you by boat into a flooded lead mine down 106 steps. Closer to home, Ponden Kirk near Keighley is a free rocky crevice on the moors above Haworth. Toddlers are better off at the Coal Mining Museum, which takes any age, while Treak Cliff and Speedwell start at five and involve steps and slopes rather than prams. If your children fancy puzzles instead of tunnels, Houdini's Escape Room in Leeds takes ages two to eighteen for sixty locked-in minutes of riddles. For the outdoor and free option, Ponden Kirk is the one to pick on a dry day.

9 places 3 free to visit

⇅

Houdini's Escape Room Experience - Derby

Houdini's Escape Room Experience - Leeds

Leeds · ages 2-18

Sixty minutes locked in a themed room working through puzzles and riddles as a team, with the game master watching the clock.

Booking requiredCard onlyGroup bookings

Six workers in high-visibility jackets and hard hats stand together on a brick structure overlooking rural countryside.

Free

Mount Sion Steam Crane

Manchester

Free crafts and guided nature or wildlife walks around a historic steam crane site on a Canal Fun Day.

Young children display yellow chicken artwork at an intergenerational craft activity with adults supervising.

Free

National Coal Mining Museum for England

Wakefield · ages 0+

Free entry to a 42 acre former colliery, with the real draw being a guided trip 140 metres underground.

Accessible toiletAllergy awareBike parkingBlue badge parking+13 more

Traditional brick pub frontage with dark wooden door, white-framed windows, and golden signage on red brick exterior.

Old Queen's Head

Sheffield

A Grade II listed Tudor building in Sheffield with a courtyard to explore and pub food to fill you up after.

Food on siteRestaurant

from £13.75

Peak Cavern

Castleton

Walk a guided showcave under the gorge with a rope-makers story - chilly low section, from £13.75 online for children.

Booking required

Aerial view of rolling green countryside with fields, woodland, and lakes stretching to distant hills under blue sky.

Free

Ponden Kirk & Fairy Cave

Keighley

A rocky crevice cave and gritstone outcrop on the moors above Haworth, tied to the Brontë novels.

from £14.50

Speedwell Cavern

Castleton · ages 5-15

A boat ride into a flooded lead mine to see the Bottomless Pit, down 106 steps in Castleton.

Booking requiredParking

from £7.50

The Bloody Tour of York

York

A 90-minute guided walk through York's snickleways, told through tales of torture, execution and ghostly goings-on.

from £8

Treak Cliff Cavern

Castleton · ages 5-17

A 45-minute self-guided walk into a real cavern hung with Blue John stone, but it's steps and slopes, not a pram job.

ParkingToiletsCaféGift shop+1 more

Good to know: caves, mines & underground in Leeds

Are any of them free?

Yes, Mount Sion Steam Crane, National Coal Mining Museum for England and Ponden Kirk & Fairy Cave are free to visit.

What does a paid visit cost?

Paid entry starts from £7.50 at The Bloody Tour of York. Prices, ages and facilities are listed on every place page, taken from each venue's own published price list.

Whereabouts are they?

You'll find caves, mines & underground in Leeds, Manchester, Wakefield, Sheffield, Castleton and 2 more. Every place we list is in or around Leeds, and each listing has the full address and directions.