Tunnels, Gravel and Throngs
Sam on her Liv Devote
With our Amsterdam Fundraising Ride approaching, (more on that in a future article), we headed to the Peak District with our bikes for a ride. The weather had been particually awful with various storm systems hitting the British Isles during December so we picked our route with that in mind. The Peak District became a National Park, and Britains first national park, in 1951. This means that post 1951 there has been basically no industrialisation. This has left a lot of the railway infustructure obsolete and over the years they have been either swallowed up by the land or converted into green highways for cycling, walking and horse riding. These shared access paths span the White and Dark Peak areas on the Peak District. There is the..
Tissington Trail
High Peak Trail
Manifold Valley Track
Monsal Trail
Sett Valley Trail
All of these are free to use with ample parking and starting positions available due to the use of the old stations as rest stops. A lot of these stations have cafes, toilets and bike hire/shops.
Dan and Eliot through the tunnels
We had decided to ride the Monsal Trail from Chee Dale to the market town of Bakewell. We descended from the A6 with our bikes on the roof of our car and twisted along country lanes. Our friend Dan and his daughter Eliot were following behind in their van. We parked up in the gravel car park along the banks of the River Wye and got ready for our ride.
Once our bags and kit was sorted we made our way to the trail. We needed to head down a very bumpy road made up of large rocks and even larger potholes filled with grey puddle water. Grey from the limestone in the earth and large because it has been endlessly raining in Derbyshire recently! We reached a huge arched viaduct and climbed the steps alongside it. They were steep and required caution especially with cleats on. Atop the viaduct we were on the old London to Manchester railway line which was closed in 1961. Although we were high up the peaks around us towered above our bikes. We looked up with wide open eyes and absorbed the earthy tones of the winter hills.
The viaduct became a path as we now cut through the hills like a knife through butter. I marveled at what we made in the past. Of course it meant dramatically changing the landscape and harming so many species of plant and animal but it really was a feat of engineering. The path blasted through rock walls and spanned green valleys on metal bridges. The roads beneath twisted around the supporting structures holding our cycle path up in the hills.
At times the hills rose higher and obviously fought back against the engineers so we cycled through the hill, in long, brick lined tunnels. Water dripping on our heads through the gaps in the orange bricks. The tunnels were lit otherwise it would of been pitch black in them. One curved so much you could not see the exit. There really was no light at the end of the tunnel!
As we headed east towards Buxton the amount of people using the trail increased. For the most part this was great. Seeing so many folk enjoying the great outdoors is always lovely to see. The cafe at Hassop was very busy with people grabbing sausage sandwiches and steaming cups of tea.
There was one downside however in the increase of people nearer Bakewell. Some of them seem impervious to the sound of a bicycle bell. The trail was easily 5 or 6 people wide but we had to stop so many times because people didn’t stay aware of other trail users. We weren’t going fast, or being dangerous so a little consideration from the walkers would of been appreciated. There was not reminder signs, not that there has to be, to prompt people to watch out for oncoming cyclists. The biggest issue was dogs being off the lead. This can result in terrible accidents. I have emailed the Peak District to ask for a comment.
We did ride the trail on New Years Eve so it was particually busy. We have since ridden the Tissington Trail and it was very quiet with plenty of very considerate trail users.
Sam feeling the rainwater in the tunnel!
On arrival in Bakewell we crossed the Wye and headed to a cafe for a coffee and a sausage roll. We were very muddy, fairly cold and had great big grins on our faces. Someone even stopped to tell Sam that she had a very muddy bottom!
We followed the trail back and stopped often to look at the abandoned railway buildings and equipment. We stopped to throw sticks in the river to see them race but it was so fast we immediately lost them under the lapping brown flow of the Wye.
On our return to the car we peeled off our muddy clothes and cleaned up. Our bikes were so muddy which is always a sign of a great ride!
For more information on our route or other Peak District cycling trails follow the link . . .
Map courtesy of the Peak District National Park Authority