Magpie to Monsal
Above: Magpie mine, near Sheldon
Above: Sheepwash Bridge, Ashford in the water
Above: View from Monsal Head towards Cressbrook
THIS varied circular walk starts at Ashford in the Water and visits the former lead mining village of Sheldon and the nearby Magpie Mine. The route then passes through Deep Dale and Monsal Dale, finally returning across the limestone plateau to Ashford. It passes through a placid landscape that belies its rich historical and industrial heritage. Monsal Dale, with its famous railway viaduct spanning the valley, is best seen from the scenic viewpoint at Monsal Head, standing high above an expansive loop in the Wye Valley. The silver thread of the river weaves its way towards Ashford in the Water, gliding between Fin Cop and Putwell Hill beside meadows teeming with wild flowers, willow, hawthorn and mountain ash. The narrow road that links Monsal Head with Ashford has existed for centuries, and was part of the Saxon ridgeway known as the Portway, one of the most ancient highways in Derbyshire. The Portway joined the River Wye at Ashford’s 17th century Sheepwash Bridge. Originally a packhorse bridge, it replaced the ford of the Portway and as its name implies is the oldest and most picturesque bridge across the Wye, with a pen next to it where sheep were washed prior to shearing.
1: From Sheepwash Bridge, head right just along the A6 and take a minor road that branches left up to through Kirk Dale towards Sheldon, passing an old quarry in about 200 yards, where Ashford ‘Black Marble’ was mined in the 18th and 19th centuries. Not a true marble, this polished dark grey limestone was very popular for ornamental and inlay work, and used in both Hardwick Hall and Chatsworth. The square-towered Norman Church of Holy Trinity in Ashford has interesting examples of ‘black marble’ inside. Just beyond the quarry, at a sharp bend in the road, turn right along a riverside path by the River Wye towards the partly-restored bobbin mills beneath Great Shacklow Wood. Although our route swings left before the mills a short detour is recommended. Here, bobbins were made for the local cotton mills, such as Cressbrook.
2: Retrace your steps and ascend a path through Little Shacklow Wood, then a dry valley to arrive near a farm at the dip on the narrow road at the eastern end of Sheldon, a charming, single-street farming village. Sheldon is a typical limestone village, and was once a mining settlement, where the work of extracting lead ore from nearby mines and rakes coexisted with farming.There are few important relics from those days, but
just south of the village is Magpie Mine, which started extracting lead as early as the 17th century and continued working into the 1950s. To reach the mine, turn left up the road for 250 yards then right along a track and footpaths through walled fields. The preserved remains of the mine, now a field study centre run by the Peak District Mines Historical Society, is one of the best examples of old lead mine workings in the area.The Cornish engine house, with its distinctive round Cornish chimney, looks impressive silhouetted against a setting sun. In early summer you find lovely displays of lead-tolerant plants such as the white-flowered spring sandwort, known locally as leadwort, on the lead spoil heaps.
3: Head north from the mine in the steps of the ‘T’owd Man’, as lead miners were called, across fields to the western end of Sheldon. A signposted footpath now leads west through a series of walled pastures into the head of Deep Dale. Descend this dry valley, with wooded slopes on its northern flanks and open scrubland on the opposite side. The dale was worked for lead and a series of hollows in the upper reaches indicate old mine shafts. In springtime, the lower slopes of the dale are carpeted with early purple orchids and cowslips.After dropping down through a rocky defile known as Demon’s Dell, pass through White Lodge car park and cross the busy A6 road to enter beautiful,wooded Monsal Dale.
4: A great promontory commands the eastern entrance to the valley, forcing the Wye to follow a huge curve around its lower flanks. Known as Fin Cop, this steep-sided hill is crowned by an Iron Age hill fort.Although the main path is away from the river, most walkers amble along the grassy riverbank to a weir, just beyond which the impressive 25 metres (80 feet) high railway viaduct, its five stone arches spanning the gorge, fills the skyline. Erected in 1867 to carry the Midland Railway line to Buxton, the viaduct is a fine memorial to the engineers who designed and built it. Not everybody loved the railway and viaduct, though, and it incurred the wrath of the poet Ruskin, a great admirer of the Wye Valley, who wrote: ‘The valley is gone… and now every fool in Buxton can be in Bakewell in half an hour and every fool in Bakewell at Buxton; which you think a lucrative process of exchange - you Fools everywhere’. Ironically the Monsal Dale viaduct is now a listed and protected structure and a valued part of our industrial heritage.
5: Before reaching the viaduct, swing left up a path through scrubland to a gate giving access to the Monsal Trail, which passes airily over the viaduct. After admiring the views, walk to the end of the viaduct to the closed-off tunnel entrance. Here a woodland path branches left and traverses the hillside up to Monsal Head, with its convenient Monsal Head pub and the Hobbes Cafe. William Adam, writing in his mid- 19th century guidebook, ‘Gem of the Peak’, described how he visited this point with a friend who was astonished and asked, ‘What is this place? Surely this is second paradise!’ It might not be quite that today, but it is still one of the most popular beauty spots in Derbyshire. From this high vantage point you get a marvellous view west over the famous viaduct to the bold escarpment of Fin Cop and north along the picturesque, upper dale towards Cressbrook. It is along these gentle pastures that the River Wye calms down after its dash through the limestone gorges of Chee Dale and Miller’s Dale to the north, before continuing sedately under the viaduct, through Monsal Dale and on to Bakewell. On summer days, the picnic tables outside the Monsal Head Inn can provide a break in the walk to sit and admire this fine White Peak landscape.
6: To return to Ashford in the Water, take a path signposted for Ashford and Monsal Dale, starting just right of the café.The path quickly forks and you take the left branch, signposted for Ashford. Follow the path along the top edge of the wooded flanks of Monsal Dale towards Fin Cop, overlooking the craggy landslip known as Hob’s House. Waymarked footpaths and tracks now lead pleasantly south through numerous walled fields back down into Ashford.
Fact file
Start/Finish: Ashford in the Water. Car park off Fennel Street, left of the church. GR: 194698 Distance/Time: 8 miles/ 13 kilometres/ 5 hours. Grading: Easy, along riverside footpaths, field paths and tracks. Hilly in places. Map: OS Outdoor Leisure sheet 24,White Peak Area. Refreshments: Café and pub at Monsal Head; the Cock and Pullet at Sheldon; the Bull’s Head at Ashford. Public Transport: Buses from Buxton, Chesterfield and Sheffield. Contact Traveline, tel: 0870 608 2608. Tourist Information: Bakewell, tel: 01629 813227. www.visitpeakdistrict.com