During the height of the railway mania tracks were being laid often with little or no purpose, throughout the land. While there were already lines running up the east and west coasts, linking London to Edinburgh and Glasgow, with cross country connections to Birmingham and other major industrial areas across industrial Midlands, Manchester and the burgeoning cotton towns of east Lancashire had no direct link to the south of England. As a result, a line was planned, running directly up the middle of the country, with off shoots east and west linking it to both the engineering giants of Birmingham and the ‘pot banks’ of Stoke on Trent. It would start at the ‘cathedral’ station of St Pancras in London and finish as befitted Manchester’s status at the business-like Central Station right in the heart of Cottonopolis.
George Stephenson being the leading railway engineer of the time, was invited to build the line that became known, for obvious reasons, as the Midland Railway. Running the track directly up the country, he encountered no major problems in driving it more or less due north, through Leicester and Derby. It was when the line began to cut its way to the north of Derby, where Stephenson was so confident in the line’s potential that he made the then small market town the manufacturing centre of his operations. He also laid the foundations of lines running east and west, east to Nottingham and Lincoln and southwest to Birmingham and west to Liverpool by way of a hub of Crewe, eventually the manufacturing and traffic control of lines reaching north and west.
It was while Stephenson was carving his Midland Line north of Derby that he hit the first of many problems. South of Derby all had been plain sailing so to say. Unlike today with HS2, there had been no serious objections, in fact landowners were falling over backwards in co-operation, hoping to fill their pockets with the wealth offered by both selling the land allowing the line to cross their land, and more importantly, lining their pockets with dividends from the business created by this, the most profitable way of carrying goods up and down the country.
His troubles began once his line made its way beyond the hitherto easy-going flat countryside in the south, with no serious hills to cross or tunnel through. It was at Whatstandwell, whose tiny station became Florence Nightingale’s link with the rest of England, where the hard work began. Also, it aroused political in-fighting by two dukes. Beyond this tiny village, the route had to carve its way through the massive limestone bulk of High Tor and similar outcrops further north.
It was when the line reached Rowsley that Stephenson’s troubles really began; it was here incidentally, that an important marshalling yard for goods trains running north and south eventually developed, probably one of the few advantages that came his way. Stephenson’s original plan, and one that amazingly had the blessing of the then Duke of Devonshire, was to run the line along the Derwent Valley, joining it with the planned Sheffield to Manchester Railway at Hathersage. His planed route would not spoil Capability Brown’s masterpiece of Chatsworth Park with its view from the Palace of the Peak. Here his line would travel between the green fields of Beeley and Baslow, running beneath the park, by way of a tunnel created by a method known as ‘cut and cover’. Trains would effectively disappear beyond Rowsley and reappear at Baslow where a station was planned for the Duke’s convenience.
Unfortunately, this suggestion failed, mainly because the Duke of Rutland successfully lobbied in Parliament for the line to take a route that was more convenient to him, together with his own semi-private station at Bakewell, close to Haddon Hall. In retrospect this seems a rather petty idea, as Haddon Hall is more or less equidistant between Rowsley and Bakewell. Not only did the plan remove the possibility of a convenient station to Chatsworth at Baslow, but it forced the Duke of Devonshire to make alternative plans for his journeys to and from London and forcing Stephenson to build an alternative station near Hassop, far from any other passengers.
From Stephenson’s point of view, re-routing the line was a potential disaster. While his original plan took the line through the fairly open and almost level countryside of the upper Derwent Valley, the new route forced the line to climb high above Bakewell, in order to gain the height needed for the climb through almost alpine terrain in the Upper Wye Valley of Monsal and Miller’s Dales. What became one of the most scenic railways in Britain was only built after the input of large amounts of cash and manpower. Another un-budgeted cost was the need for locomotives with the extra power needed to haul trains over this ‘alpine’ route. These became the beautiful maroon Pacific locomotives once used to haul trains from London St Pancras to Manchester’s Central Station.
With the demise of the line following the Beeching report, the Midland was closed beyond Matlock and stripped of its track. Fortunately, this allowed the Peak District National Park to take over large sections of it together with its tunnels and scenic viaducts in order to create the Monsal Trail, an all-weather route for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The route of the trail runs from Bakewell to a little way beyond the old Miller’s Dale Station, passing through several tunnels illuminated by solar-powered lights. It crosses the famous viaduct below Monsal Head, a popular viewpoint before taking a high-level route above the aptly named Water-cum-Jolly Dale, making this walk one of the easiest, yet most attractive walks in the Peak District.
There are several pubs and two cafes along the trail, as well as in Bakewell, the Peak District’s ever popular visitor destination. One of its main attractions is the local delicacy called the Bakewell Pudding. An old cottage close to the town centre is well worth a visit; containing a tiny museum that is well worth the climb above the parish church and its Saxon preaching cross. Market Day is on Monday with bargains galore on offer, close by livestock sales, a useful end to this walk.
THE WALK STEP BY STEP
The walk starts at Bakewell old railway station. With your back to the station buildings, turn left and walk along the Monsal Trail for about 3½miles.
Hassop Station Café, picnic site and car park is passed along the way, suitable for an early coffee and a great bite to eat. There are also pubs in Great and Little Longstones as well as a tea-room (in summer) at Thornbridge Hall gardens. Most of the places mentioned here are signposted from the trail’
There is the choice of two ways at this point, but the one described is probably the best. Rather than go into the tunnel a couple of hundred yards ahead, lookout for a footpath sign on your right and follow it across three fields into Little Longstone.
Turn left when facing the pub and follow the road onto Monsal Head viewpoint, crossing the Ashford to Wardlow Mires with care. The view of Monsal Dale opens up below, together with its old railway viaduct. There is usually an ice cream van in the far corner of the sitting area.
Behind and to the right of the ice cream van, a narrow stone squeezer stile gives access to a narrow footpath along the valley crest. Follow the path, climbing gradually to your left, joining a narrow, walled access track.
Go south for a little under a quarter of a mile along the walled track, between a series of narrow fields until the track makes a sharp left hand turn. Continue along the track as far as another sharp bend. Turn right here and follow the way, past a turning and continue, gradually downhill for about half a mile, into the outskirts of Ashford in the Water.
Turn right along the narrow road and follow it to the village recreation park.
Go through the park and turn left by the public conveniences, then follow the village street, past the old market shelter and Sheepwash Bridge.
Continue past the parish church where paper head-dresses or ‘crants’ are memorials to girls who died before their marriage.
Continuing to follow the street to its end, cross the busy A6020. Turn right and then left along the closed road, past the village cricket field and walk up to the main road, the A6.
Turn left to walk for a few yards beside the road and go through a narrow stile on your left. Follow a riverside path for about half a mile through the grassy meadow, until it climbs up to a small housing estate, and onwards to the main road.
Turn left and follow the road, past an industrial complex until a narrow packhorse bridge appears to your left.
Cross the bridge and turn right along the quiet road. Look out for a stile giving access on to Scott’s Meadow.
Follow the riverside path up to the ancient road bridge and turn left if wishing to return to the station car park, or right into Bakewell and its amenities.
