The Monsal Trail is a cycling, horse riding and walking trail in the Derbyshire

Peak District 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 moorla ...

. It was constructed from a section of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway, which was built by the Midland Railway in 1863 to link Manchester with London and closed in 1968. The Monsal Trail is about long and opened in 1981. It starts at the Topley Pike junction in Wye Dale, east of

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 ...

, Millers Dale, Cressbrook, Monsal Dale,

Great Longstone Great Longstone with Little Longstone is one of two villages in the local government district of Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire, England. The population (including Hassop and Rowland, but not Little Longstone) as taken at the 2011 Census was ...

Hassop Hassop is a village in the local government district of Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Great Longstone It developed around a number of lead mines, with such names as "The Brightside", "Backdale", "Harry Bru ...

and Bakewell. The trail has numerous landmarks including Headstone Viaduct, Cressbrook Mill, Litton Mill and Hassop railway station, and passes through six tunnels. It is a major part of the as yet incomplete White Peak Loop and is designated as National Cycle Route 680.

History

The Monsall Trail follows a section of the former

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 ...

, built by the

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 ...

in 1863 to link Manchester with London. The line was closed in 1968 by the Labour Minister for Transport

Barbara Castle Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002), was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1979, making her one of the longest-serving female MPs in Bri ...

, not by the Beeching Axe, and remained unused for twelve years before being taken over by the

Peak District National Park Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

. The route through the Wye valley was necessitated by the Duke of Devonshire's objection to the railway passing through his land (which included not only Chatsworth House, but extensive grounds north of

Rowsley Rowsley () is a village on the A6 road in the English county of Derbyshire. The population as at the 2011 census was 507. It is at the point where the River Wye flows into the River Derwent and prospered from mills on both. The border of the ...

). The route meant that the line had to pass above the town of Bakewell, rather than through it. The

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

, of

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of the incumbent Duke) and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it ...

, insisted on the construction of Haddon Tunnel to hide it from his view, but he used

Bakewell railway station Bakewell railway station was a railway station built to serve the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire, England, by the Midland Railway on its extension of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway line from Rowsley to Buxton. ...

, which was built to a grander design than normal and carried his coat of arms. The Duke of Devonshire later realised the value of the railway, and his offer for the Midland Railway to run through Chatsworth came too late. He was the force behind the construction of Hassop railway station, which, although nearer to Bakewell than Hassop village, meant he did not have to share a railway station with his neighbour. Great Longstone station (Longstone before 1913) served Thornbridge Hall, and the railway station design, with leaded glass windows, reflected the architecture of the hall. For many years the trail could not follow the trackbed through the tunnels at Monsal Head and Cressbrook which been closed for safety reasons and the trail was diverted to avoid them. The tunnels were walked by

Julia Bradbury Julia Michele Bradbury (born 24 July 1970) is an Irish-born English television presenter, employed by the BBC and ITV, specialising in documentaries and consumer affairs. Her passion is the outdoors and more recently following her cancer diagn ...

in BBC TV's ''Railway Walks: The Peak Express''. Many access points and diversion paths were unsuitable for cyclists, wheelchairs or people with walking difficulties because of steep uneven stone steps or narrow paths. Plans to make the tunnels safe and re-open them to the public were given the go-ahead at a cost of £3.785 million. The tunnels were formally opened on 25 May 2011 at a ceremony at the Headstone Viaduct after being used from 13 May 2011. The trail can be used by wheelchair users with level access at Bakewell, Hassop railway station (disabled toilets at Bakewell and Millers Dale railway stations) and Millers Dale. Reopening as a railway is not supported by the Council, and was last rejected in October 2022.

Route description

The Monsal Trail is about long and opened in 1981. It starts at the Topley Pike junction (in Wye Dale, 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.Bakewell. It follows the valley of the River Wye and runs parallel to the A6. From the Wyedale car park, the easiest access point for the northern end of the trail, there is a walk of about , with the last part up steps, to reach the trail. Starting at the south of the trail, "from Market Place in Bakewell, follow Sheffield Road and cross the five-arched bridge of the River Wye, turn right and ascend Station Road to the former

and car park on your left." The trail passes through Blackwell Mill, Millers Dale, Cressbrook, Monsal Dale,

and Bakewell. At Longstone and Hassop the railway stations were some distance from the villages. Derbyshire County Council support the creation of a circular cycle route linking Buxton, Bakewell and Matlock with the High Peak Trail. Dubbed the White Peak Loop, it includes extending the Monsal Trail to Matlock, a proposal which received strong support from a public consultation exercise in 2014. The section between Rowsley and Matlock opened in March 2018, running adjacent to the railway trackbed except for minor diversions just north of Rowsley South, at Darley Dale, and at Matlock. The remaining section of the route between Bakewell (Coombs Viaduct) and Rowsley is at the design stage. When complete, the section will run for the most part along the railway trackbed and require new bridges at Rowsley and the refurbishment and opening up of the 1-km Haddon Tunnel.

Landmarks

Headstone Viaduct

Headstone Viaduct, at Monsal Head, is one of the more impressive structures on the line, although when built it was seen as destroying the beauty of the dale.

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

, a poet and conservationist of the time, criticised the building of the railway: His words are displayed on the viaduct. When the railway closed and there was talk of demolishing the viaduct, there was considerable opposition. In 1970 it was designated as a Grade II listed building.

Cressbrook Mill

Cressbrook Mill opened as a cotton mill in 1783, powered by water from Cressbrook stream. It was built on the site of a distillery by William Newton of Abney. The original building was destroyed by fire.

Litton Mill

Litton Mill was a large cotton spinning mill that opened in 1782. It was notorious for the harsh treatment of child labourers by the owner, Ellis Needham. Many of the children, brought from London and other large cities, died young from the cruel treatment.

Hassop railway station

Hassop railway station was situated about two miles from the village. It was opened in 1862 by the Midland Railway on its extension of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway from Rowsley.

Tunnels

The trail passes through the following tunnels: * Headstone: * Cressbrook: through limestone, 1 in 100 gradient * Litton: through limestone, 1 in 100 gradient * Chee Tor 1: * Chee Tor 2: * Rusher Cutting Tunnel: A further tunnel, Haddon Tunnel, is currently closed on safety grounds but has been proposed for reopening.

Recreation

The route is used for recreation purposes by cyclists, walkers, horse riders, wheelchair users and joggers. A 5 km

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

, run entirely on the Monsal Trail, takes place every Saturday morning at 9am; it starts at Hassop railway station, passing Thornbridge Hall, continuing to Headstone tunnel and then turning around to finish where it began.

References

External links

National Park Authority website – The Monsal Trail
* * {{NCN Peak District Rail trails in England Footpaths in Derbyshire Tourist attractions of the Peak District