After the viewpoint the dale swings west and levels out with gentle gradients, becoming just a shallow depression as it peters out onto the open pastureland between Castleton and Chapel-en-le-Frith.

[1] Cave Dale was initially formed by glacial meltwater carving a deep narrow valley in the local soluble limestone.

[5] Cave Dale is accessed through a narrow rocky opening almost from the centre of Castleton, and Peveril Castle is seen high up on the almost vertical western slopes.

There are several small caves or old lead mines within the dale's limestone walls, one being larger than the rest with bars preventing access, as it is the ventilation fan outlet for Peak Cavern.

Cave Dale's steep north-facing grassy slopes are damp and bryophyte-rich and are dominated by oat grass (Trisetum flavescent) and sheep's fescue (Festuca ovina).

The Hollandtwine Mine lies 250 metres (820 ft) to the east but the shaft top was destroyed and buried during fluorspar quarrying in the 1990s, and access is no longer possible.