Creswell Crags Life In The Ice Age Cave Tour

Join an expert guide on a tour of “Rock Art Tours.... 13,000 years ago by Britain's first artists”. We’re in Robin Hood Cave, the largest of all the caves at Creswell Crags.

Robin Hood Cave

Legend has it that Robin Hood Cave provided a hide out for the famous outlaw to evade capture by the Nottinghamshire authorities. However, as with many Robin Hood tales, it is likely that fiction far outweighs the facts. One thing we can be sure of however is that it seemed to provide a popular home for people during the Ice Age.

The Neanderthals arrived first, occupying Robin Hood Cave until around 40,000 years ago. They made hand axes and scrapers from flint, quartzite and clay-ironstone to help them survive on the Ice Age grasslands. Homo sapiens came later and used the cave from around 22,000 years ago until the end of the Ice Age and beyond. They left a wide range of tools and butchered animal bone, as well as an image of a horse’s head that had been intricately engraved on a piece of horse rib bone. You can see this rare find for yourself in our museum!

 Discover what Creswell Crags was like during the last Ice Age. Who was here? What was here? What were they doing? How do we know? Find out the answers to these questions and many more in a fascinating tour that lasts about an hour.

Join us for an event of discovery at Creswell Crags. There is an exhibition centre and you can walk around the lake surrounded by the crags and caves. 

The Plan for the day is: 

11am arrival

11:15 –12:15 Collection Store Tours

12:15 –1pm  Lunch

1pm –2pm   Life In The Ice Age Cave Tour

2pm –3pm  Time to look in exhibition, gift shop

We start with a look around the exhibition. Then have the Collection tour in the Library. 

Then we can have lunch. Followed by the Life In The Ice Age Cave Tour.

After we can have a walk around the Gorge and explore the site more. We also have a photo opportunity where you can have your photo taken riding on a mammoth. Creswell Crags Home of the Ice Age Hunter Creswell Crags is a limestone gorge honeycombed with caves and smaller fissures. Stone tools and remains of animals found in the caves by archaeologists provide evidence for a fascinating story of life during the last Ice Age between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago. Rock Art Tours This is your chance to see Britain's

only known Rock Art, which was discovered by archaeologists in 2003. The

tour will take you to Church Hole Cave to view the world famous engravings,

carved in to the walls and ceiling of the cave about 13,000 years ago by

Britain's first artists. There is a shop and café on site.