The heavy rain last Autumn caused a huge amount of flood damage in Castleton. But it took some time to realise just how bad things were in the visitor centre. When the wooden floor started cracking and lifting, Peak Park staff and museum volunteers knew they were in trouble! Things were particularly bad in the museum which had to be closed weeks ago to visitors. The whole Centre then closed for 3 weeks whilst the entire flooring was replaced. For museum volunteers this involved clearing all the display cabinets, carrying dozens of boxes upstairs to safety, moving the cabinets and finally setting all the displays up again. Maria Kenyon, Chair of Trustees says “We are not quite there yet as there are still some technical issues to be resolved. But it was a huge relief to be open again for all our visitors over the Easter weekend. We are also taking the opportunity to make a few changes to our displays and we never stop thinking of new ways to share our village history with local people and visitors alike”.
The Peak District National Park Authority has commissioned consultants to review all the visitor centres in the Peak District and their report is due at the end of May. Meanwhile, the future of the visitor ventres, and of Castleton Museum, remains uncertain.