The Monsal Trail is a cycle and walking trail in the Derbyshire Peak District. It follows a section of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway, built by the Midland Railway in 1863 to link Manchester with Derby and London. The line closed in 1968 under the Beeching Axe, and remained unused for twelve years before being taken over by the Peak District National Park.
The Monsal Trail is about 13.7 km (8.5 m.) in length and runs from Wye Dale in the north-west 4.8 km. (3 m.) east of Buxton to Coombs viaduct, a point about 1.6 km (1 m.) south-east of Bakewell, largely following the valley of the River Wye. The trail passes through such places as Blackwell Mill, Millers Dale, Cressbrook, Monsal Dale, Great Longstone, Hassop and Bakewell.
The Trail does not follow the trackbed at all times, for where tunnels have been closed for safety reasons, such as at Monsal Head and Cressbrook, the path is locally diverted. Apart from these diversions from the trackbed, the trail is virtually level.
Headstone Viaduct, at Monsal Head, is one of the more impressive structures on the line. Built by W.H. Barlow in 1863, it is 101 m.(111 yds) long and stands 24 m. (78 ft.) above the river. When it was built, it was seen as destroying the beauty of the dale. John Ruskin, a poet and conservationist of the time, criticized the folly of building the railway : 'The valley is gone - and now every fool in Buxton can be in Bakewell in half an hour and every fool at Bakewell in Buxton'. His words are displayed on the viaduct. However, times change and when the railway was closed, there was considerable opposition to its demolition and in 1970 a preservation order was placed on it.
Equally impressive, though less easily viewed, are the twin viaducts at Millers Dale, where a branch line ran to Buxton. The Trail runs across the older of the two, built in 1863, also by W.H. Barlow, which has three wrought iron arches on stone piers. In 1905 an additional viaduct was built alongside comprising four steel trusses.
The Peak Rail preservation group, who run a heritage railway from near Matlock to Rowsley, have a long-term intention to restore the link the whole way to Buxton. This would include the entire length of the Monsal Trail. A study of a full reopening and re-incorporation into the national network of the line was made by Derbyshire County Council in 2004. This concluded that such a plan was not economically feasible; however, it also stated that the trackbed should be protected from development.
By road: Peak Rail is on the A6 at both Rowsley and Matlock. Both viaducts are on the Monsal Trail foot and cycle path. Millers Dale is on the B6049, a turning off the A6. Monsal Dale is best seen from above at the Monsal Head Hotel on B 6465.
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