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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 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 Buxton, and runs to Coombs Viaduct, south-east of Bakewell. It follows the valley of the River Wye. The trail passes through Blackwell Mill, Chee Dale, Millers Dale, Cressbrook, Monsal Dale, Great Longstone, Hassop 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.
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). The route meant that the line had to pass above the town of Bakewell, rather than through it. The Duke of Rutland, of Haddon Hall, insisted on the construction of Haddon Tunnel to hide it from his view, but he used Bakewell railway station, 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. (1971). 9780852061183, Dalesman Books. ISBN 9780852061183 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 were closed for safety reasons and the trail was diverted to avoid them. The tunnels were walked by Julia Bradbury 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.
The trail passes through Blackwell Mill, Millers Dale, Cressbrook, Monsal Dale, Great Longstone, Hassop 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.
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.
A further tunnel, Haddon Tunnel, is currently closed on safety grounds but has been proposed for reopening.
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