A Landscape Rich in Historical Heritage
Chapter eight
Everywhere you go in Derbyshire, you walk across a landscape rich in historical heritage, even the paths walked upon have their own stories to tell…
The Limestone Way
The Limestone Way is Derbyshire’s longest distance trail covering the whole length of the county from Rocester in the south, just over the border in Staffordshire, to Castleton in the north of Derbyshire, a total of about fifty miles. The underlying rocks around Rocester are of red triassic sandstone but the scenery changes near Mayfield to the rugged grey/white limestone from which the route takes it’s name.
This is, or was, the heart of England’s lead-mining country and the Way passes through a rich ore field which has been mined since Roman times, as evidence shows at Roystone Grange near Ballidon.
Indeed ancient feet have trodden most sections along the Way, some sections using old miners tracks, some even older and dating back to Roman and Saxon times. But the earliest of all date back to the Bronze Age and link the henge monuments, hill top forts and burial grounds like Arbor Low with others such as Castle Ring and Nine Stones Close on Harthill Moor and the Nine Ladies Stone Circle and Bronze Age Cemetery on Stanton Moor.
Later the Romans built roads across the area; `The Street‘ ran from Derby to Buxton, `Batham Gate’ ran from Buxton to Navio, a fort near Brough, and `Hereward Street’ ran from Rocester, the starting point of the Limestone Way, through Ellastone and Mayfield before fording the Derwent at Cromford and continuing past Ashover to the Roman fort at Chesterfield.
Later came the old Saxon `Portweg’ or Portway, which means a road to a market town. These were essential trading routes used mainly to take lead and wool out of the area and to bring other essential goods, like salt and textiles in on the return journey. These routes, which were sometimes paved and sometimes `hollow ways’ along green lanes were used from the Middle Ages by teams of packhorses, each led by a `Jagger’ and in some places were in almost continual use up to the end of the 19th century. The Limestone Way makes full use of these ancient and well trodden tracks.
Today the lead mines are all gone but the area is riddled with old workings, capped-off mine shafts and thousands of small grassy hillocks abundant with rare species of wild flowers, mostly spoil-heap legacies left over from the lead-mining `glory days’ of the 18th century.
Roman pigs of lead bearing the official stamp with the abbreviation `Lut’ have been found extensively across southern Derbyshire and it is believed that `Lutudarum’, the Roman centre of lead mining was situated somewhere in this area.
The Limestone Way starts at West View near the old Tutbury Mill, originally a corn mill until Arkwright converted it to process cotton. Also in the nearby `Abbey Field’ just to the west of our starting point are the ruins of St.Mary’s Augustinian Priory which was founded in 1441. The order was disbanded in 1538, and later a Manor House, Rocester Hall was built on the site but was demolished by 1650.
The Way proceeds towards Barrowhill farm, so named owing to a small hill fort with evidence of pre-Roman settlement, and then downhill to the River Dove and to Doveleys, formerly a school, and on to Ellastone Bridge. Ellastone is a small village with some fine buildings and is known to lovers of literature as the `Hayslope’ in George Eliots classic novel `Adam Bede’. George Eliot’s father Robert Evans lived here and his father is buried in Ellastone churchyard. Beyond the church in the upper part of the village can be found `Adam Bede’s Cottage’.The Way proceeds west of Mayfield to Blore where Buckingham’s Field signifies an event at the end of the Civil War when the Duke of Buckingham sheltered in a nearby cottage after falling from his horse here and breaking his arm whilst fleeing from a band of Roundheads in 1651.
Shortly beyond Blore the Way crosses the River Dove and the county boundary into Derbyshire at Coldwall Bridge. The Way rises towards Thorpe Green with it’s attractive Norman church of St. Leonard’s, built around 1100, and from here proceeds by a series of pleasant paths and a short stretch of road to Tissington.
The Tissington approach is via an impressive gateway which leads along an avenue of recently planted lime trees to the attractive Jacobean Mansion of the Fitzherbert’s, Tissington Hall. The Way passes through Tissington churchyard and welcome refreshments are available at the award winning Old Coach House Tea-Rooms across the road from St.Mary’s Church. From the churchyard the Way crosses pleasant farmland and a bridge takes it across the Tissington Trail and over the scenic limestone escarpment to Parwich.
The Way then goes north eastward to Ballidon, formerly an exceptionally pretty village with ancient origins and a splendid little Norman church, which sadly now stands alone in a field. The village was deserted long before Tilcon Quarries completely ruined it and transformed the area to the north of the village into an unsightly dustbowl with massive exploitation and scarring of the landscape.
The house platforms of the deserted village can be seen in fields around the church. The Way passes close to the church and over the hill where it meets a grassy track, probably the original direct way between Ballidon and Brassington. It then crosses the Ashbourne to Bakewell road and climbs along a lane which leads through lead-mine spoilheaps north of Brassington, whose rooftops can be seen to the south east.
Also in the same direction there are fine views of Carsington Reservoir about four miles away over the hills. The Way crosses the High Peak Trail and after about a kilometre it joins a section of the old Portway which leads to the five-ways road junction at Grangemill.
It crosses the top of the Via Gellia which comes up the valley from Cromford and follows a steep footpath near the Holly Bush, which climbs to skirt an old quarry on it’s way to the hamlet of Ible.
This is another place of note for literary buffs for it was here that D.H.Lawrence set his short story `The Wintry Peacock’, written during his stay at nearby Mountain Cottage in Middleton during 1908. Beyond Ible, (which Lawrence called `Tible’ in his story) a number of old lead miner’s paths lead up through a series of squeeze-stiles towards the old mines around Bonsall, Slaley and Uppertown, and the Way descends across fields to the latter where it passes Hollies farm which is well worth a visit for it’s well stocked Farm Shop and horticultural fare available from it’s famed plant nurseries.
From Uppertown the path via Hollins Lane is marked by squeeze stiles and leads over Bonsall Moor past the tiny hamlet of Brightgate towards Winster, once the lead mining capital of the area and a former market town. There are magnificent views north from Luntor Rocks, reputedly the scene of a murder two centuries ago and the Way leads past a unique and fascinating lead and wood seat built long ago by the local miners.
This area is criss-crossed by dozens of old mining paths, but the Limestone Way is clearly marked and runs between parallel dry-stone walls down the hillside to the old Mosey Mere beside the Bakewell to Ashbourne road just above Winster West Bank. Here close to the Miner’s Standard pub is the finest example of a lead ore house in the land; a commemoration plaque on the wall explains it’s former use.
The Mere was once the water supply to Islington village which once stood near these crossroads, but this small mining village has long since completely disappeared.The Way continues along Islington Lane, still following the old Portway as it undulates past Grey Tor and crosses the Elton road at the top of the hill.
At these ancient crossroads there once stood a stone cross known appropriately to travellers along the Portway as `Elton Cross’. This pointed the way down Dudwood Lane opposite, a steep metalled lane which leads to a stile and farm gate beside the main road at the bottom. The Way climbs up the Portway winding past Cratcliffe Rocks with it’s famous Hermit’s Cave hidden behind two old yew trees at the base and the twin pinnacles of Robin Hood’s Stride rising to the left.
From here the Way crosses two fields with the four remaining standing stones of the Neolithic Nine Stones Close on the right, and meets the Elton to Alport road opposite Harthill Moor Farm. The Way follows the road to the right for 400 metres and then turns left through a small wood behind Castle Ring, an Iron Age Hill Fort before descending a series of fields and stiles and crossing Bleakley Dike before meeting Mawstone (or Moss-Stone) Lane almost at it’s junction with Bradford Dale.The Way turns left and follows the River Bradford up the picturesque dale before ascending an old track beside a weir which leads up to the Middleton – Youlgrave road. The Way then turns right and follows the road past Lomberdale Hall, former home of well known antiquarian Thomas Bateman. At a sharp bend in the road, the Way goes left and due west for 300 metres before bending to the right across five fields and crosses the road at the junction of Long Rake and Moor Lane.
From this point a few hundred metres west of Youlgrave, a wide track leads westward to Calling Low Dale and then to One Ash Grange, settled by the monks of Roche Abbey in 1147.
Beside the path is a small vaulted cave believed to have been used by the monks as a cold store, and from here it is a short distance up into the village of Monyash. From Monyash the Way turns left into Blackwell Lane by Dalehouse Farm and crosses Flagg Moor by a series of miner’s paths, coming into the village along Mycock Lane. The Way turns left along Flagg Main Street and continues beyond Town Head Farm and along Green Lane and then the rougher track of Sough Lane to pass the chambered tomb at Five Wells, with the old track from Chelmorton coming in from the left.
Here the Way skirts the edge of Taddington Moor and crosses the A6 close by the isolated Waterloo Inn, then follows the metalled Priestcliffe road before turning left down Long Lane and skirting Taddington village before crossing the River Wye at the western end of Miller’s Dale near Monksdale Farm.
The Way runs northward parallel with Monk’s Dale along a narrow lane to it’s junction with the Tideswell road and then turns left by Monksdale House, following the road until a signpost points the Way up to the right to Peter Dale and through the parish of Wheston. On through Hay Dale the Way follows an old mining rail-track through an avenue of deciduous trees to a stone-walled track with an old sheepwash half hidden behind the northern wall. It is interesting to note the mill stone bearing the legend `Limestone Way Farm’ beside the modern farmhouse alongside the Way. The Way then crosses the A623 close by Mount Pleasant farm and almost simultaneously bisects the old Roman Road of Batham Gate, which can be clearly seen running south west to Smalldale.
There are many abandoned old mine shafts close by the Way north of this point and from the hill beyond Cock farm there are wonderful views northward to Mam Tor and Win Hill, with the Kinder Scout plateau in the distance beyond.
The Way is now nearing it’s end in Castleton’s busy Market Square at the northern edge of the White Peak, but not before the tranquil beauty of Cave Dale has been experienced, and the dramatic views of the picturesque ruins of Peveril Castle.
The Tissington & High Peak Trails
The Tissington Trail follows the course of the old Ashbourne to Buxton line running from Ashbourne in the south to Parsley Hay, thirteen miles to the north in the heart of Derbyshire’s White Peak.
The line or `permanent way’ was constructed by the L.N.W.R. Company and opened on June 4th 1899, but was never a commercial success. The line was used only by `local traffic’, carrying milk to large towns, especially from the dairy herds at Hartington and Tissington, and limestone from local quarries to the crushing plants and kilns at Buxton.
Eventual closure came in the late 1960’s and after protracted negotiations the permanent way came into the ownership of the Peak National Park and the Derbyshire County Council who converted it into a leisure route and it became known as the Tissington Trail.
The Tissington Trail is joined at Parsley Hay by the High Peak Trail which comes in from the east, and together they run a couple of miles further north to Dowlow near Buxton. There are cycle-hire centres at either end of the Trail and both Mapleton Lane and Parsley Hay hire shops are attended from Easter to October.
There are ample car-parking facilities at Mapleton Lane and a pleasant picnic area close to the cycle-hire centre. The Trail north to Thorpe and then to the ancient village of Tissington need be no more than a gentle stroll for the track is even, the going easy, and the surrounding countryside superb.There are picnic areas and parking facilites at both, and toilets available at Tissington.
The next former station along the route is at Alsop which has all but toilet facilites. Approaching Alsop the Trail flirts with the main A515 Ashbourne to Buxton road, and crosses it just beyond the village. Care should obviouly be taken at the several points along the Trail where it crosses a main road.
The longest stretch between old stations is between Alsop and Hartington, where the Trail keeps to the west of the main road and passes through some of the most scenic countryside along the entire route. There are excellent facilities at Hartington, including toilets and an information centre which is housed in the old signal box and which is open at weekends and bank holidays only, between Easter and October.
Similar facilities are included at Parsley Hay, just beyond the junction with the High Peak Trail, with the addition of the cycle-hire centre, and from here it is but a short and pleasant walk to Hurdlow, which has a parking area and picnic site.From Hurdlow the Trail crosses the road to Monyash and Bakewell and bends westward for a mile before coming to it’s destination at Dowlow south of Buxton.
The Trail is ideal for use by the disabled and those with restricted mobility and is a haven for the naturalist, botanist and bird-watcher alike. There are many rare plant species and a host of interesting specimens of butterfly along the way too.
The Tissington Trail provides the gentlest gradient, and perhaps the easier access, because for most of it’s length it runs close to the main A515, whilst the longer and fractionally more difficult High Peak Trail cuts across a number of roads but is paralleled by no major roads anywhere along it’s length.
The High Peak Trail follows the course of the old Cromford and High Peak Railway from High Peak Junction, half a mile to the east of Cromford to Dowlow, a couple of miles south of Buxton, a distance of seventeen and a half miles.
Early in the nineteenth century a proposed canal link across the southern part of the Peak District had to be abandoned owing to lack of water and vast engineering problems, and so Josiah Jessop, whose father had engineered the construction of the Cromford Canal, turned to the new steam engine technology of the coming age and built this early rail-link instead.
Originally 33 miles in length, the line took five years to construct and was opened in 1830, with horses pulling the carriages along the level sections of the line and stationary winding engines hauling the wagons up several steep inclines which linked the level sections. There is an excellently restored winding engine at Middleton Top which can still be seen working at certain times during the year.
The line was used mainly to carry local freight like limestone and it’s components out of the area and to bring coal and other commodities in. Passengers were occasionally carried in a carriage attached to the rear of a goods train between Middleton Top and Parsley Hay during the summer months, but they were forced to alight and walk up Hopton Incline!
After amalgamation with the L.N.W.R. the line continued to decline and became grossly unprofitable with closure inevitable, and the final section from Friden Brickworks to Parsley Hay closed in 1967.
As with it’s sister trail, the line was obtained by the Peak National Park Authority and Derbyshire County Council and turned into a leisure trail known appropriately as the High Peak Trail.
From it’s junction with the Tissington Trail just south of Parsley Hay, the High Peak Trail runs south easterly through the wonderful open countryside of the Peak National Park. From Parsley Hay to Minninglow it runs almost parallel with the old Roman road from Derby to Buxton, known as `The Street’.
There are parking facilities and a picnic site at Fridon and one must take care crossing the main road just along the next section toward Minninglow.
The distinctive tree shrouded hill top of Minninglow can be seen on the skyline from as far away as Hurdlow. There are a number of Neolithic chambered tombs at this ancient burial mound and the old Roman road passes within 100 metres of the northern perimeter of the site, whilst the Trail passes the same distance to the south.
There is a picnic site and parking facility near Roystone Grange and a signposted spur of the High Peak Trail takes the traveller along the Roystone Grange Trail to view a site which contains relics from the Bronze Age, Roman and Medieval periods.
Also on view here is a marvellous example of early Victorian railway building in the shape of the massive Minninglow Embankment,- and the pure symmetry of the curve as the line bends towards Daisy Bank.This is the longest stretch between halts along the Trail, from Minninglow to Middleton Top, where the surrounding landscape becomes a little more industrial as one approaches the large quarries around Middleton and Wirksworth. But thankfully the Trail follows quieter ways and keeps the walker away from any industrail clamour.
There are a full range of facilities at Middleton Top, including the cycle-hire centre, and it is only a mile or so to the well known popular picnic area at Black Rocks, the penultimate halt along the Trail before it’s destination at High Peak Junction.
There are toilet facilities and an information board at all three locations and ample car parking spaces. The High Peak Trail has no village halts along the way and thus, provides no refreshment facilities, whereas the Tissington Trail has halts at Thorpe, Tissington, Alsop, and Hartington where the traveller might wish to pause along the way and make a short detour into one of these beautiful villages for refreshment.