Thor’s Cave is one of the Peak District’s most impressive structures – and the river that flows nearby has its own stories too.
When people think of caves in the Peak District, their minds will turn to the world-famous tourist hotspots Blue John Cavern and its neighbours in Castleton.
But there’s a mighty cave, down on the Staffordshire side of the Peak District, that’s often overlooked.
This is Thor’s Cave, a huge natural cavern located in a steep limestone crag.
Its structure dominates the horizon, but it’s the view from inside the cave itself that makes this well worth the drive.
Once you scramble into Thor’s Cave – and the rocks can be icerink-slippy, so take care – its limestone walls create a picture frame looking over the Manifold Valley.
Image: Instagram @jennieclaydon
Thor’s Cave is in the Staffordshire side of the Peaks, a little further afield than some parts of this beloved national park.
It’s around an two hour drive from Leeds itself to the village of Wetton, or less if you live on the south side of the region.
But it’s well worth the trip.
It’s believed that this ancient structure was occupied by early humans in the Palaeolithic period, after remains, tools, pottery and bronze items were found here by archaeologists.
If you’re thinking the cave looks familiar too, you might recognise it as the cover image of The Verve’s debut album, A Storm in Heaven, and from their music video for Blue.
A 7.5km circular walk from Wetton village will take you all along the course of the River Manifold and pass by Thor’s Cave, and other caves in the valley.
Image: Instagram @ aurimaskan
The river itself has been nicknamed the ‘disappearing river’, for good reason.
Unless there’s been particularly wet weather, the river vanishes around Wetton Mill and doesn’t reappear until Ilam Hall, about six kilometres away.
It’s all down to the limestone riverbed, which is pockmarked with sinkholes and underground channels and caves.
In dry weather you can walk along the empty riverbed, knowing that the River Manifold is still flowing way beneath your feet.
And when you’re all walked out, you can settle down for a pint and a pie at the traditional country pub, the Royal Oak.
The tiramisu hype lives on, and this time it's coming to Leeds.
It really does feel like the traditional Italian dessert has taken the world by storm as of late.
Everything from tiramisu cups and tiramisu coffees have been popping up all over our feed, and now tiramisu in drawer form is popping up in the city centre.
Misu Tiramisu is an independent business that began at Manchester's Christmas Markets and quickly became one of the most popular operators, all thanks to its miniature tiramisu ‘drawers’.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The individually portioned and colourfully packaged desserts quickly became one of town’s top puddings, and owners Aleem and Aishah went on to launch a stand inside the Manchester Arndale too.
And now they’re branching out again in Leeds inside Trinity shopping centre for a two month residency.
You’ll find all their delicious flavours of handmade tiramisu, including classic, pistachio, chocolate, Biscoff, mango, and lemon - they'll also have some gluten-free tiramisu on offer as well, so no one has to miss out.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Misu Tiramisu owners Aleem and Aishah spent a year refining the recipe for their tiramisus after a trip to Milan, first launching with their first market stall in Sale.
Misu Tiramisu is now open inside Trinity shopping centre opposite Boots Opticians and Pop Specs.
They're open every day of the week for you to get your tiramisu fix, from 9am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am to 5pm on a Sunday.
And trust us Leeds, they're just as delicious as they are adorable.
Fossilised 320-million-year-old fish found in Leeds’ Roundhay Park
Clementine Hall
A prehistoric fish fossil has been unearthed at Roundhay Park in Leeds.
The fascinating prehistoric skull bone of a coelacanth fish was discovered by a geologist at Roundhay Park earlier this year.
It is thought the creature was frozen in time aeons ago, during an era when the park was submerged under a vast tropical lagoon.
The remarkable discovery has now been kindly donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries and added to the natural sciences collection at Leeds Discovery Centre.
Image: Leeds City Council
The Leeds fossil was found by Ru Smith of the Yorkshire Geological Society during a reconnaissance walk he was carrying out ahead of a planned field excursion in the north Leeds park.
Describing the moment he made the discovery, Ru said: “There’s a layer of rock in the park which dates from around 320 million years ago, from a time before the breakup of the continents, when what is now the park would have been situated close the Equator and under the warm waters of a tropical lagoon. West Central Africa would be a good place to find similar environments in the present.
“There’s a bed of freshwater mussels called Carbonicola at one level in the rock, and opening a piece of shale from this bed in my hands I saw something unusual – a distinctive skull bone of a large fish. I knew straight away this was something different and very rare."
The bone was verified byexperts as belonging to a coelacanth older than those found elsewhere in Yorkshire, making it the oldest fossil coelacanth discovered in the region.
Ru added: “Coelacanths are pretty amazing fish and it’s just very cool to think that at one time, you could have been standing in Leeds and watching them swim around above a bed of mussels in Roundhay Park.
“That’s really the wonder of geology, looking at the rock and time travelling in the imagination to what was a very different world.”
Daisy Jackson -
5th July 2024 
