A Taste of the Peak District |
Accommodation and attractions of the Peak District of the UK |
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Site map >> Home >> Attractions and activities >> High Peak Trail |
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Other industrial history sites:Peak District accommodation, general information and geology.How to contact ‘A Taste of the Peak District’. |
The High Peak Trail begins (or ends!) at the High Peak Junction on the Cromford Canal - the pump house for the canal is fired up occasionally for the benefits of visitors. Another key canal of the Peak District lay on the other side of the high limestone plateau. There were plans to join the two but it would have proved far too difficult to cut a canal between the two so the owners linked them by railway instead. Basically a lack of water and the permeability of the limestone were the two insurmountable problems. The route of this railway - the Cromford and High Peak Railway - survives as the High Peak Trail. Its construction was organised by Josiah Jessop, the son of the builder of the Cromford Canal. The line was designed to carry freight, limestone out, coal and other materials in. Occasional passenger services ran during the summer months, if the line still existed, I’m sure it would have been classed amongst the great railway journeys of the world.The railway took 5 years to build and was 33 miles in length. It opened on 1890 and the final section was closed in the late 1960’s. The dismantled line was acquired by the Peak Park authority and after safety work was carried out, gives easy walking and easy traffic free cycling along most of its length, with gentle inclines and a fairly flat and generally well maintained surface. There are several information centres along the route such as the one at Middleton-by-Wirksworth.Here you can find the Middleton Top winding house. This contained a vast engine to pull waggons up to the top of the plateau from the Cromford canal. Once at Middleton Top, they could be coupled to an engine for the rest of the journey. After a near miss in 1888, when several waggons broke loose and careered out of control all the way back to the Canal, a 'catchpit' was constructed. In addition to this industrial archaeology, there is a gift shop (sells snacks, drinks and ice creams), toilets, a car park and cycle hire. Toilets are also available at Parsley Hay, Black Rocks and High Peak Junction.It is a steep and long walk (or bike ride) up to Middleton Top from the Cromford Canal, but for those who do not wish for this exercise, or are unable to walk/cycle, there is an easy drive! Hurrah! |
Photos taken at Middleton TopFor archaeology, the section of the trail that passes Roystone Grange is the richest - with remains stretching from the Neolithic, through Bronze Age, Romano-British and Medieval and Victorian in a remarkably small area.After appreciating the perfect sweep and excellent stonework of the Minninglow Embankment, cast your eyes uphil to note the tree-shrouded hill. This can be seen for miles around and is an ancient burial mound containing several Neolithic Chambered tombs. Unfortunately this is on private land. Take time to follow the Roystone Grange trail to see Bronze age and Romano-British remains including field boundaries (well actually just a few of the original stones remain but the walls are in the same places as they were 2000 years ago). Medieval remains have also been located here. |
For more information about the shop and cycle hire at Middleton Top contact:Middleton Top Visitor Centre, Middleton by Wirksworth, Derbyshire, DE4 4LS |
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