Monsal Trail

Derbyshire

Exploring Chee Dale, Millers Dale, Upperdale and passing Monsal Head then onto the dismantled railway leading to Bakewell, it follows the former Midland Railway, much near the River Wye in a steep sided valley.

It is one of several former railway lines, collectively the White Peak Trails, providing useful links with many other routes through the White Peak area, and which are open for use by walkers and cyclists. They are the High Peak Trail (18 miles) Cromford - Dowlow; Tissington Trail (13 miles) Ashbourne - Parsley Hay, where it connects with the High Peak Trail; Monsal Trail (9 miles) Wye Dale - Coombs Viaduct, Bakewell; Manifold Way (8 miles) Hulme End - Waterhouses.

The planned re-opening of four abandoned railway tunnels in the Peak District (Headstone, Cressbrook, Litton, Chee Tor) went ahead in 2011. The Monsal Trail features in Chiz Dakin's guidebook Cycling in the Peak District (Route 15 Buxton to Bakewell loop) so the trail now runs from Bakewell to Wyedale (just west of Chee Tor) and the awkward descent and footpath across the river at Littondale on the interim route is no longer needed.

---

Details:

Path Type:	Paths Marked on OS mapping
Attributes:	Easy Former Railway
Start:	SK111726 - Blackwell Visitor Car Park, Derbyshire
Finish:	SK230679 - Dismantled Railway, Coombs Road, Bakewell, Derbyshire
Web Sites:	Peak District National Park - Monsal Trail Peak District Information - Monsal Trail Derbyshire UK - Monsal Trail

---

Publications, Badges and Certificates:

External PDF	Welcome to the Monsal Trail  (Peak District National Park  - 2011 )
Guidebook	Julia Bradbury's railway walks  (Frances Lincoln (an imprint of Quarto)  - 2010 )
Guidebook	Cycling in the Peak District : 21 routes in and around the National Park  (Cicerone Press  - 2017 )
External PDF	Derbyshire CC - Cycle Derbyshire  (Derbyshire County Council  - 2014 )

---