Blackwell Mill is a location 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 ...

, near to the village of Blackwell near

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.River Wye which may have dated from 1066. Most of it has disappeared, apart from the weir. What is left is marked as an

Ancient Monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...

. It stands at the meeting point of several valleys:

Great Rocks Dale Great Rocks Dale is a dry valley in the Derbyshire Peak District, known for its extensive quarrying. Geography and geology The valley runs from Peak Dale down to Blackwell Mill at Chee Dale on the River Wye. The scenery is of limestone, whic ...

Chee Dale Chee Dale is a steep-sided gorge on the River Wye near Buxton, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. Wye Dale continues upstream towards Buxton while downstream are Miller's Dale village and valley. Chee Dale has a protected nature res ...

and Ashford Dale. In times past the Manchester Turnpike forded the river. It marks the northern end of the public path from Bakewell, used by walkers and cyclists, called the

Monsal Trail The Monsal Trail is a cycling, horse riding and walking trail in the Derbyshire Peak District. It was constructed from a section of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway, which was built by the Midland Railway in 1 ...

. The trail follows the trackbed of the former

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

main line from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Blackwell Mill lies between Bakewell and

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.Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway ran from a junction with the Midland Railway at Ambergate to Rowsley north of Matlock and thence to Buxton. In time it would become part of the Midland Railway's main line between ...

into Manchester. This point was the south curve of the triangular junction which it built when it, instead, extended to

New Mills New Mills is a town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a deep gorge cut t ...

. There was a railway station variously called "Blackwell Mill" or "Blackwell Mill Halt". Long enough only for one carriage, it was reputed to be the smallest passenger station on British Railways. It consisted of two short platforms, with no buildings, apart from a small shelter, which although derelict is still standing despite the station closing in 1967. The halt was for the railway workers who lived in the still-existing, and still occupied, eight terraced cottages nearby in the valley. The station was also included in a

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as British Pathé. Its col ...

film in 1938. Passengers and goods from Buxton wishing to transfer to or from the

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...

travelled past this point, to then change trains at

Millers Dale Millers Dale (Ordnance Survey: Miller's Dale) is a valley on the River Wye in Derbyshire, England, where there is also a hamlet of the same name. It is a popular beauty spot in the Peak District of England, much of the area being preserved a ...

. The branch carried on into Buxton along Wye Dale, crossing the main

A6 road This is a list of roads designated A6. * A006 road (Argentina), a road connecting Las Cuevas with the Christ the Redeemer monument in the border between Argentina and Chile * ''A6 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A6 (Sydney), a road connec ...

and the river by a high twin-arched girder bridge, before entering Pig Tor Tunnel (191 yards), where it emerged into Ashwood Dale, followed by the Ashwood Dale Tunnel.Railway Magazine October 1963 p. 680

Route

References

* Truman, P., Hunt, D., (1989) ''Midland Railway Portrait,'' Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing * Radford, B., (1988) ''Midland Though The Peak,'' Unicorn Books

External links

* {{coord, 53.25030, N, 1.83360, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SK112726), display=title Transport in Derbyshire Peak District Rail transport in Derbyshire Railway stations closed in 1967

Route

See also

References

External links