A Taste of the
Peak District
Peak District, Derbyshire Monsal Trail, White Peak 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 Monsal Trail - running through the heart of the White Peak, Derbyshire.
The
Monsal Trail is just under 9 miles in length. It runs from the Coombs Road
viaduct, about a mile south of Bakewell to Blackwell
Mill junction, 3 miles or so from Buxton (east). The trail runs along the
course of the old Midland Railway through the very heart of the Peak District;
it is not continuous like the Tissington and High Peak trails owing to the
high maintenance costs of the long and numerous tunneled sections of the
line. These have simply been closed off for safety.
The building of the Original Midland Railway line was not welcomed by the
Dukes of Devonshire and Rutland since it was to pass close to their Derbyshire
residences (Devonshire
refused to let the line be routed through Chatsworth Park and Rutland
refused a line up the Wye Valley through Haddon Hall lands). Rutland
compromised and the line was screened from Haddon using a tunnel. This
can be seen as you come down from Chatsworth towards Haddon Hall. Also
the station at Bakewell had to bear his coat of arms. Devonshire had
a station built at Hassop, which is now the highly successful Country
Bookstore. The line was completed in 1863 and closed a century later
in 1968 as part of the notorious 'Beeching Cuts'. The Peak Park authority
bought the line and opened it as the Monsal Trail in 1980 after carrying
out
essential safety work. Footpaths connect the sections closed by tunnels,
cyclists need to link the sections by road.
Perhaps the most interesting (and most challenging in times of heavy rain)
linkruns through Chee Dale - the stepping stones are often submerged under
the waters of the river Wye! The best section for cycling (and horse riding)
is probably the Bakewell to
Longstone section.
At Monsal head you will find one of the Peak Districts gems - the view
down Monsal Dale. This is a good starting point for a variety of walks
but note that the way down (and therefore back up) is very steep. Refreshments
are available from the pub or tea shop. Parking is Pay and Display behind
the pub (the car park in front of the pub is small and for short stays
only).
Monsal Dale - Monsal Station is situated here and the Monsal Trail runs through this fascinating valley steeped in industrial history. Below is a photograph of the schematic map provided by the Peak District National Park Authority to guide you along the Monsal Trail.
The main ‘on-trail’ car parks are at Bakewell and Millers Dale.
Pay and Display parking is available at Monsal Head and Tideswell Dale. Bike
hire may be available at Bakewell but it is not set up quite as well for
that as the other trails such as the Tissington Trail, High Peak Trail and
Manifold Way.
There are various information points along the way detailing the closed
sections, flora, fauna etc.
Accommodation in or near to Bakewell
Industrial Archaeology
To the east and west of Millers Dale station you can spot
limekilns, used to produce quicklime for a variety of uses. Litton Mill
lies downstream
from Millers Dale station and is notorious for the uncompromising treatment
of orphans by Ellis Needham, some as young as 9 years old, from London
and other major cities. These provided a source of cheap labour with no-one
to show any concern. The graves of many of these child labourers are found
in nearby churchyards. Despite its dark past, the mill is an interesting
building which is now converted into luxury apartments.
Further downstream still lies Cressbrook Mill, which was opened in 1783 by
William Newton. Previously the site had been a herb distillery. Richard Arkwright
supplemented his Cromford Mills through the use of Cressbrook. As happened
to several of the Mills, the original one burnt down. The subsequent mill
was in use until the mid 1960s. The imposing building seen on the
site today was built in the early 19th century to house the workforce - what
a great view they woke up to! Today, as with Litton Mill, the building has
been converted into luxury apartments. More information can be found at the
point
the footpath
regains the railway line after a short climb out of the valley.
Both of these mills were water powered.