A Taste of the
Peak District
Peak District, Derbyshire property for sale, B&B, self catering holiday cottage accommodation, hotels, tourist attractions, walking, climbing, mountain biking history, towns, villages, geology, mining, local information, Derbyshire businesses and much more …
The
Cromford and High Peak Railway was built in the 1830s and finally closed
in the late 1960s as a result of the Beeching Cuts. In
the 1970s, the Peak Park and Derbyshire County Council acquired the trackbed
from Dowlow near Buxton to High Peak Junction on the Cromford Canal, a short
way from Arkwright's mill. They converted this 17 mile stretch into the High
Peak Trail - a traffic free track for cyclists and walkers. It has become
the first stage of the Pennine Bridleway. To the left, you can see a montage
of photographs taken at Middleton Top.
The High Peak Trail begins (or ends!) at the High Peak Junction on the Cromford Canal - the pump house for the canal is fired up occasionally for the benefits of visitors. Another key canal of the Peak District, the Peak Forest Canal, lay on the other side of the high limestone plateau. There were plans to join the two but it would have proved far too difficult to cut a canal between the two so the owners linked them by railway instead. Basically a lack of water and the permeability of the limestone were the two insurmountable problems. The route of this railway - the Cromford and High Peak Railway - survives as the High Peak Trail. Its construction was organised by Josiah Jessop, the son of the builder of the Cromford Canal. The line was designed to carry freight, limestone out, coal and other materials in. Occasional passenger services ran during the summer months, if the line still existed, I’m sure it would have been classed amongst the great railway journeys of the world.
The railway took 5 years to build and was around 17 miles in length. It opened in 1832 and the final section was closed in the late 1960s. The dismantled now gives easy walking and easy traffic free cycling along most of its length, with a fairly flat and generally well maintained surface. There is just one road crossing to be made, but please also be aware that there are several farm tracks that intersect the trail. There are several information centres along the route such as the one at Middleton-by-Wirksworth (Middleton Top). There are several fierce inclines on the trail, notably getting from the High Peak Junction to Black Rocks and between Wirksworth and Middleton Top. The Hopton Incline was the steepest worked incline on any British railway and often caused problems for the train drivers with its 1 in 14 gradient. The line was a record breaker in other respects too, the highest point on any British Railway and the tightest gradient (the Gotham Curve).
Starting at the High Peak Junction with the Cromford Canal, the line heads steeply uphill behind the visitor centre (small gift shop, also sells sweets and drinks). It flattens out and on the left you will see the ruined winding house. The incline was far too steep for either horses or locomotives to pull trucks up so that was done using a cable and a massive stationary steam engine. The trail, now flat for a while, then passes Black Rocks, a well known and popular Derbyshire Beauty spot at Wirksworth. This was one of the early hard gritstone climbing venues. Carrying on along the trail, you pass the Steeple Grange Light Railway and the National Stone Centre, where the trail once more heads up a steep incline, not as long as the first but equally as steep! Where it finishes, you will find Middleton Top. At Middleton Top you will find toilets (toilets are also available at Parsley Hay, Black Rocks and High Peak Junction.), cycle hire, a visitor centre and the Middleton Top winding house. This contained another huge steam engine (still fired up occasionally for visitors) to pull wagons up to the top of the plateau from Black Rocks. Once at Middleton Top, they could be coupled to an engine for the rest of the journey. After a near miss in 1888, when several wagons broke loose and careered out of control all the way back to the Canal, a 'catchpit' was constructed along this section.
After Middleton Top, the trail passes through the Hopton Tunnel, when has been resurfaced to make it much safer for wheelchair users. The trail then passes Harboro Rocks and out into the White Peak. Along the way, you pass some industry based on the local minerals, most notable perhaps is the Friden Brickworks where there are several information plaques that detail the history of the factory, including old photographs. Just beyond the Newhaven Tunnel, the High Peak Trail is joined by the Tissington Trail, a branch line that was constructed at the end of the 19th century. A few hundred metres further on is Parsley Hay (toilets, refreshments, bike hire and car park). The trail continues on northwards from here to Dowlow, where it ends abruptly at a gate.
For archaeology, the section of the trail that passes Roystone
Grange is the richest - with remains stretching from the Neolithic, through
Bronze Age, Romano-British and Medieval and Victorian in a remarkably small
area.
After appreciating the perfect sweep and excellent stonework of the Minninglow
Embankment, cast your eyes uphil to note the tree-shrouded hill to the east
of the Trail. This can be seen for miles around and is an ancient burial
mound containing several
Neolithic Chambered tombs. Unfortunately this is on private land. Take time
to follow the Roystone Grange trail to see Bronze age and Romano-British
remains including field boundaries (well actually just a few of the original
stones remain but the walls are in the same places as they were 2000 years
ago). Medieval remains have also been located here. Keep your eyes open also
for the Lime Kilns.
There are various books about the Cromford and High Peak
Railway on Amazon as well as guides to the high Peak Trail, not all of which
are readily available, try The
Cromford and High Peak Railway by John Marshall or Walking
the High Peak Trail (Trail Guide) (Paperback) by prolific local writer
John Merrill.
People who were interested in this page may also be interested in these ...
- Railways of the Derbyshire and Staffordshire Peak District
- Derbyshire and Staffordshire Peak District Cycle Hire
- Derbyshire and The Peak District Walking
- Derbyshire and the Peak District Cycling
- Derbyshire and the Peak District Towns and Villages