Saturday 5 October 2013

The Monsal Trail and three of its tunnels ...

The newly opened tunnels on the Monsal Trail were the main reason for heading up into the Peak District in May 2011. After parking at Monsal Head we walked down the lane towards Little Longstone Congregational Chapel ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.  
 
  and the village itself ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.  

Just beyond the Packhorse we took the path across the fields towards the Monsal Trail ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 The signs on the Trail had been upgraded.

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 We turned right along the Trail and headed towards the first tunnel ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 ... passing under a bridge linking the fields on either side of the cutting ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 The cutting was soon below ground level ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 ... and we were walking into Headstone Tunnel ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 After a few hundred yards we came out into the bright daylight below the Monsal Head ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 This is an area that has its admirers ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 We followed the Trail north-westwards ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 Away to our right there was an excellent view of Cressbrook Mill ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 We entered Cressbrook Tunnel ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 On leaving Cressbrook Tunnel we caught a glimpse of the River Wye below ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

  We entered our third tunnel of the day, Litton Tunnel ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 Before many minutes had passed we came out into the daylight above Litton Mill ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 We left the Trail and descended the path towards Litton Mill ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 The butterbur was looking very healthy ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 I noticed a floating apostrophe on a blue sign that perhaps I ought to bring to the attention of the Apostrophe Protection Society ...


The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 Beyond Litton Mill we followed the path beside the River Wye ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 We were soon back on the Monsal Trail, passing over the River Wye a long way below ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 We followed the path rising from the Trail to Monsal Head itself ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 As the path rose out of the valley there's a good view of the viaduct below ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 The whole area was a very healthy green ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

 For the last few yards of the walk the footpath passed through sweet cicely on both sides of the right of way ...

The Monsal Trail ~ 15th May 2011.

This walk was followed on the 15th May 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 5.95 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 185.95 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 15th May 2011 ~ 707.69 miles

  41 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging just over 4.5 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

16 comments:

  1. I don't recall this walk,, but you have done so many. This one was looking very long and very interesting. With all those tunnels...

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    1. It was quite an interesting walk Barbara. Glad you enjoyed it.

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  2. This looks like it was quite the hike, Charlie. Once again you put us right there ...

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    1. It was probably a bit longer than normal Pet ...

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  3. A very enjoyable walk Charlie, with some good variety of terrain, particularly in the final section. I know you've told us before, but I've forgotten, were the tunnels originally for a railway line?

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    1. Yes, the tunnels were originally on the route of the Derby/Manchester line Mitch.

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  4. I am so glad you aren't vetting my e-mails as I just sent off "student's that should have been students' " and it was too late to retreive and change. It also seems inane to send a longer note to apologize. I just came back from a Quaker style meeting that went on for 6 hours with an hour for dinner. I am getting used to the long silences. They are helpful in themselves, without even asking for Clearness Committee help. I try to emulate your style of blogging but that will come to an end as we have stopped travelling.and I won't have any new walks or sites to show Blogger folk. Sigh. Old Man Watching has had enough of travelling.

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    1. I will look forward to reading more of your blogs when you have something to report ! Yes, I used to enjoy the long silences at Quaker meetings though it obviously wasn't enough for me as I didn't stay with them.

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  5. Another enjoyable walk Charlie,we really must try and make time for it when we come up to Derbyshire.I think walking through the tunnels would be quite an experience,I would probably look over my shoulder to see if a steam train was coming.Ann

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    1. It's well worth exploring this area Ann though it is perhaps slightly more taxing than other areas nearby.

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  6. Another enjoyable walk Charlie,we really must try and make time for it when we come up to Derbyshire.I think walking through the tunnels would be quite an experience,I would probably look over my shoulder to see if a steam train was coming.Ann

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    1. I can recommend walking through two or three of the tunnels. I hope you make it when you next get up to Derbyshire.

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  7. I enjoyed reading about this walk Charlie! I'm just back from a(rather wet) few days near Ashbourne - among other things revisiting Dovedale, one of my favourite outings as a child!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed this Alison. Despite the weather I hope you enjoyed those few days near Ashbourne ... and walking through Dovedale.

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    2. We had a great time, thanks, Charlie!

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    3. Glad to hear that Alison ...

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