History of the Monsal Trail

Viaducts and tunnels

The Monsal Trail was once part of the Midland Railway line, from Manchester to London (1863 to 1968). It has been a recreational route since 1981. As you walk, cycle or ride you’ll be in the footsteps of the Victorian engineers and ‘navvies’ hard work as well as having a chance to spot the wildlife that’s moved in over the last 50 years.

The monumental Headstone Viaduct in Monsal Dale and six tunnels along the way make this an extraordinary trail to experience. The longer tunnels are about 400 metres long and lit during daylight hours. These are Headstone Tunnel, Cressbrook Tunnel, Litton Tunnel and Chee Tor Tunnel. The two shorter tunnels are Chee Tor No.2 and Rusher Cutting. Amazingly, the tunnels were only opened to visitors to pass through safely in 2011.

Keep to the left as you pass through the tunnels. Making steam train noises is optional!

[Image of Headstone Viaduct]

Headstone Viaduct (sometimes called Monsal Viaduct) is probably the most famous feature of the trail. Now it is listed for its historic and architectural interest, but when new, it was controversial. Its construction aroused strong opposition.

Victorian environmentalist, essayist and poet John Ruskin said: "There was a rocky valley between Buxton and Bakewell, once upon a time, divine as the Vale of Tempe... you enterprised a Railroad through the valley - you blasted its rocks away, heaped thousands of tons of shale into its lovely stream. The valley is gone, and the Gods with it; and now, every fool in Buxton can be in Bakewell in half an hour, and every fool in Bakewell at Buxton; which you think a lucrative process of exchange – you Fools everywhere."

Wildlife

There are nature reserves, looked after by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, at Priestcliffe Lees, Millers Dale Quarry and Chee Dale alongside the Monsal Trail.

What to look out for:

Spring

Ash, hazel and willow trees burst into life and colourful wildflowers bloom – cowslips, early purple orchids, bluebells, wood anemone and ramsons (wild garlic). Dippers are some of first birds each year to build a riverside nest along the Wye.

Summer

House martins swoop through the air catching insects at Millers Dale Station. You might see migrating wheatears on grassland with their distinctive white bottom, grey wagtails and dippers in the rivers. Look for common blue, green hairstreak and brown argus butterflies. Ox-eye daisy, common rock rose, cranesbill, scabious and more flower alongside the trail.

OR Autumn: Soak in the fiery leaves on trees changing colour, red berries on hawthorn and rowan trees, and mushrooms and toadstools appear. Winter-visiting thrushes like redwing and fieldfare arrive to gorge on the bounty of berries.

Winter: Look out for bird and animal tracks in the mud or snow and siskins, redpolls and flocks of tits chattering in the trail-side trees.

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Rocks from ancient seas

Between Blackwell and Monsal Head, the Monsal Trail cuts through fossil filled limestone that formed over 350 million years ago when the area was a tropical sea near to the equator. Shells, corals and mud built up on the seabed and eventually formed the limestone. South of Monsal Head, the limestone is covered by shales. These were formed from fine muds and sands deposited by vast river deltas flowing into that early sea.

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Past industries

Cotton Mills

Litton Mill was a large cotton spinning mill, it opened in 1782, and 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 and were buried in the churchyards at Tideswell and Taddington.

Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cressbrook Mill opened in 1783. It was a cotton mill at first, powered by water from Cressbrook stream. The original building was destroyed by fire. In 1812, construction work started on the large Georgian building that can be seen today. 'Big Mill' used water from the River Wye to power its two large water wheels until steam turbines were introduced in 1890. Manufacturing ceased in 1965.

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Limekilns

You can see commercial kilns, built in the 19th and 20th centuries, near Millers Dale Station. Quicklime had long been produced in small kilns, mainly for agricultural use, but with the expansion of the steel and chemical industries, demand increased. Limestone, from quarries that opened next to the railway, and coal, brought in by train, were burnt to produce quicklime. This in turn was taken out on the railway. The last kiln closed down in 1944.

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