A ride along the Monsal Trail

Although the main aim of our blog is to encourage cycling in the local area we also like to share our cycling experience from other areas.

I recently took my 8 year old daughter for a ride on the Monsal Trail for a change of scenery.  It was early March and a lovely sunny Sunday. We were not disappointed.

Hassop Station

Arriving at Hassop Station, just the other side of Bakewell, a little after an hour after leaving Gresley we looked to have just timed it right as the car park was already getting full.

Hassop Station houses a cycle-hire shop, a well stocked bookshop and a very good cafe.  The trail follows part of the old Midland line that linked Derby with Manchester via Bakewell and Buxton.

The trail starts in Bakewell approximately 2 miles from Hassop but we headed in the other direction towards Buxton.  The panniers were crammed with a decent packed lunch and drinks as well as the mandatory bananas.

Our first impressions were a little concerning as the first mile or so near Hassop was busy with a lot of walkers and it looked like progress would be difficult but after a mile or so it became clear that there were lots of people taking a short walk from Hassop. As we progressed the path became clearer.

Great Longstone Station (on return)

After a short stop to adjust my daughter's seat (they grow so quickly!) we started to pick up pace and started to enjoy the scenery. The first point of note was the station at Great Longstone which was built specifically for access to the nearby Thornbridge Hall.

View from Headstone Viaduct

A short time later we came to the first of the tunnels - Headstone tunnel. The tunnels are well surfaced and well lit but be prepared for a drop in temperature and the odd drop of water! Coming out of the tunnel into daylight for the first time is a great feeling and even moreso on this trail as the track then leads onto the Headstone viaduct with wonderful views over Monsal head and surrounding valley.  It is one of the most pleasant places to have a picnic.

Riding through the tunnels

After setting off again it became more noticable that we were cycling up a gradient. We continued through the next 2 tunnels (Cressbrook and Litton) before the trail took us to Millers Dale where the industrial history of the route became prominent through the remains of a number of kilns and also the large station.  There are numerous information boards along the trail telling some important facts about the trail and its history.

It would have been easy to turn around here having seen most of the trail but with the promise of an ice cream on our return to Millers Dale and a pot of tea and cake back at Hassop we agreed to continue to the end of the trail around 2 miles further up.

The 2 Chee Tor Tunnels

It took us over 2 hours to reach the end of the trail from the start. The end of the trail is around 6 miles short of Buxton. There are toilets and refreshments available as well as car parking.

The journey back was much quicker with the gradient becoming obvious on the downhill leg.  We called in to Millers Dale Station for the ice cream and a little rest on the platform edge. We also had our photo taken by a lovely couple who had followed us into the old station.

Millers Dale Station

 Another great thing about cycling and walking is meeting and talking to others.  There were toilets at the station which was useful.  There are many good cycle tracks that don't have suitable toilet provision for youngsters but the Monsal was clearly good for this.

In almost half of the time we made it back to Hassop via another brief stop on Headstone viaduct.  The ride back was more relaxing though we did spot a couple of incidents with children and dogs getting in the way if bikes despite a good number of signs explaining the code.

Cressbrook Mill

After just over 14 miles at a steady average of around 6mph we decided to call it a day and put the bikes back in the car.  The extra 3-4 miles to Bakewell and back will have to wait for another day and my daughter had done really well.  As promised, we had a lovely pot of tea and some cake before making our way back and reflecting on a great ride.