Visitors will get a rare chance to see one of Royston’s most unique tourist attractions by candlelight this Christmas.

The Royston Cave, in Melbourn Street, is opening on Saturday December 7 to give visitors a chance to see the medieval carvings.

Cave manager James Robinson said: “People often ask why Royston Cave has such limited opening hours particularly as it is such a unique place.

“The answer is quite simple. The Cave is made entirely of chalk and as such it is very sensitive to water. If water gets into the Cave, it can cause the chalk to expand and when it dries out the resulting contraction can cause cracks in the carvings.”

“To help keep these factors in check, we limit the number of visitors and the amount of times the Cave is open and during the winter months the Cave is put to bed until the Easter of the following year.

“However, we do appreciate that people want to see the Cave and so at Christmas we are opening up for a candlelight viewing to let people see the Cave as it was meant to be seen all those centuries ago.”

The cave will be open from 10.30am-1pm on December 7. Entrance is £2.50 with accompanied children free. Tickets can be purchased on the door.