Thorpe Cloud railway station was opened in 1899 between the villages of Thorpe and
Fenny Bentley
Fenny Bentley is a small village and civil parish located close to Dovedale in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. The population in 2009 was 305 reducing to 183 at the 2011 Census. It lies two miles north of Ashbourne, on the ...
in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, south east of
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.London and North Western Railway (LNWR) opened the to section of the
Ashbourne Line
The Ashbourne line was a railway from Buxton via Ashbourne to Uttoxeter. It was built by the London and North Western Railway using a section of the Cromford and High Peak Railway (C&HPR) and it joined the North Staffordshire Railway at Ashb ...
Whaley Bridge
Whaley Bridge () is a town and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England. It is situated on the River Goyt, south-east of Manchester, north of Buxton, north-east of Macclesfield and west of Sheffield. It had a population ...
to
Cromford
Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Do ...
) at
Parsley Hay
Parsley Hay railway station served Parsley Hay, a hamlet within Hartington Middle Quarter civil parish, about south east of Buxton, Derbyshire, on the LNWR line to Ashbourne. The nearest large settlement is the village of Hartington.
Histor ...
.
In common with the other stations on this line, the platforms and buildings were of timber construction. From Parsley Hay to Ashbourne the line was single with passing loops at the stations, though provision was made for doubling which never occurred. Like the previous station at
Tissington
Tissington is a village in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. The appropriate civil parish is called Tissington and Lea Hall. The population of this parish at the 2011 census was 159. It is part of the estate of Tissington H ...
it was built on a gradient of 1 in 60, downwards towards Ashbourne, and the modular buildings were stepped to accommodate this.
The station took its name from a nearby hill,
Thorpe Cloud
Thorpe Cloud is an isolated limestone hill (a reef knoll) lying between the villages of Thorpe and Ilam on the Derbyshire/ Staffordshire border at the southern end of Dovedale. It is a popular hill amongst the many day-trippers who visit the a ...
which is at the entrance to
Dovedale
Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale in the north and a wooded r ...
, and was therefore a popular venue for
ramblers
The Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path ...
. The station was host to a LMScaravan from 1934 to 1939, a camping coach was also positioned here by the
London Midland Region
The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Irelan ...
from 1954 to 1955.
Regular passenger services ended on 1 November 1954, though excursions continued until 1963. Freight continued until 7 October 1963. The track to Ashbourne finally being lifted in 1964.
The track bed from Ashbourne to Parsley Hay was acquired by Derbyshire County Council and the
Peak National Park
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where mo ...
in 1968 for a cycle and walking route. This, the
Tissington Trail
The Tissington Trail is a bridleway, footpath and cycleway in Derbyshire, England, along part of the trackbed of the former railway line connecting Ashbourne to Buxton. It takes its name from the village of Tissington, which it skirts. Open ...
, was one of the first of such ventures in the country. Later, Ashbourne Tunnel was acquired by
Sustrans
Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network.
Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United K ...