Monsal trail, Tideswell dale & Longstone moor

This walk was done on 30 May 2011
Distance: 13.4 miles
Time 4.21
Weather: Typical May weather, wet again.


View 2011-05-30 10:20 Monsel Trail in a larger map
If you click on the link you can see more details. I walked it in a clockwise direction.

On Today's walk I had the company of Tony and his dog Lucy.
It started at Monsal head. Parking was on the public car park just behind the Monsal Head Hotel. This cost £4 for the four hours, the most expensive one I have come across yet by 25%. What we also noted was on the last walk up to the pub from Little Longstone was a lot of cars parked on the road side there. So I will say try the road side first and save paying the rip off council. 

One of the things that attracted me to this walk was the viaduct.

Looking from Monsal head up to Tideswell dale

Which was at the start of the walk, Now I don't make to many navigation errors but I have to admit somehow I missed it. I know it's a big object and you can see it plainly from Monsal head, but once we had got down to the bottom of the dale this is all I saw

nice but boring

 So I thought bugger it and we carried on. I had not heard of the Monsal Trail before once we had gone a few minutes down it I became apparent it was popular with the walkers and cyclist and it reminded me of the Manifold Way which is another converted rail line and as a personal choice a better walk/ride. This type of walking is a bit to commercial for my taste but if it gets people out and about that's OK.We soon came across a couple of tunnels which there are a number on this walk

More on these later in my rant time.

 This track runs slight on the hill side you have a good view into the dale bottom which had some good views

 This is Cressbrook mill an old dark and satanic now converted into flats. Having looked into it a bit more this was a Richard Arkwright mill that was burnt down in 1785 and rebuilt by his son Richard Arkwright junior who was more enlightened and started to treat his workforce much better :

The original mill was built by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1779 but this burnt down in 1785 and was rebuilt by Richard Arkwright Jnr in 1787. A large extension (Wye Mill - Grade II* listed) was commissioned in 1814 and erected by William Newton on behalf on J L Philips and Brother, Cotton Spinners. Newton was a local character whom Anna Seward dubbed 'The Minstrel of the Peak'. Behind the mill are apprentices cottages, older than the current main mill building by several years. These were built to house orphans brought as child apprentices from London to work in the mill.

In 1820 the tiny cottages in Ravensdale (known locally as 'The Wick') were built followed in 1840 the model village of pretty cottages at the top of the hill. The Cressbrook mill owners were generally philanthropic and as well as fine housing they provided piped water pumped up the hill from a spring near the river and they funded the village band, which still survives.

Above the mill is Cressbrook Hall, the house of mill-owner Henry McConnel. The house stands on a bluff overlooking the river and is a fanciful piece of Gothic architecture. The position is superb, with magnificent views down Monsal Dale. Farther up the hill is the rest of the village, for the most part consisting of the cottages once occupied by the millworkers.

A few miles along the river we turned right to enter Tideswell Dale where we came across a very large rodent

I don't know why it was there but it was done really well and to give you a sense of scale it was over a metre high. Should had taken the photo with Lucy in front of it.
At the head of the dale it was right turn into the village of Litton with another right turn directly behind a farmhouse leading down to Tansley dale which joins Cressbrook dale. We headed North up to the head of this dale

  Just before it ends (or should that be Starts?) take a look aback and you will see this interesting rock out crop which is not noticeable as you walk up the dale.

 A short walk down the road into Wardlow with a right turn off the road near the church takes you back over some odd countryside.

My best guess this is where the original stones were dug out for the drystone walls. With added sheep as well. We then turned onto Longstone moor a small moor which rose over the hill. While coming down the other side we came across more evidence of old stone digging

The photo does not do the vertical sides justice.

As you drop off the moor the view opens up in typical dale style

A stumble down through the woods and out onto the road to Little Longstone and then back up to Monsal head and the car. 
This took us a little over three and a half hours so we still had time and legs to find the elusive viaduct
 Once we got to the top again I took a picture or two to make sure it was there and headed down to it

So we eventually got to the bottom and Yes I mean the bottom, I had missed it again. I was not laughing at this time, I am not that crap at navigating, however my mood was lifted by the views we got as an added extra.

Yaaa we did eventually make it on the third attempt. I was satisfied and on the direct walk back up I found where I had missed the path down twice, I made some half hearted excuses to Tony who had know me longer enough just to laugh at me so I gave up and we went to the stable bar for a beer.

Now (rant mode on) next to the viaduct is a tunnel

 Same as all the tunnels along this trail there is a nice yellow sign.

Lets look at the general view again

Do we really need warning there is a tunnel? Is the tunnel not the main focus of attention here? Can someone please explain why this sign is necessary.
Also I don't know what to make of the first sentence in the blue part.
It just seems to me that once again H&S council jobsworths have taken over from common sense.

(rant mode off)

Just to prove that I was there thanks to Tony there is a photo of me on a walk.

Looking cool & yes this is the sign post I managed to miss twice.

It was a good walk the trail was a little to commercial for me but once we broke from the trail and the populace was left behind(it was a bank holiday weekend) it improved alot.
Thanks to Tony and Lucy for the company on a wet old day.
Which brings me to my final Photo. Living on your own does have some advantages

Kit dumped to dry in front room