The Monsal Trail

In the 19th century the Midland Railway was looking for an independant route to Manchester and decided to build a railway through the heart of the Derbyshire Peak District from Rowsley to Chinley, then on to Manchester. The line opened in 1863 and the section between Bakewell and Wyedale is particularly scenic, including the majestic Monsal Dale viaduct. However, John Ruskin took exception, questioning the value of the railway and its effect on the beauty of the area; ".....the valley is gone, and the Gods with it; and now, every fool in Buxton can be in Bakewell in half an hour, and every fool in Bakewell at Buxton....". But few today looking down from Monsal Head into the Wye Valley and appreciating the graceful viaduct would agree with him.

(As ever, please click twice on the images to see them full size)

Monsal Dale viaduct over the River Wye seen from Monsal Head

The railway not only gave the Midland its direct route to Manchester, it hosted fast London expreses late into in BR days in the 1960s. It was also a major freight artery especially following the demise of the Lancashire coalfield in the inter-war years requiring coal to be brought across the Pennines from the East Midlands. In its last years it was the route of the iconic 'Blue Pullman', more prosaically known as the Midland Pullman which provided a fast and luxurious service between Manchester Central and London St Pancras. However, as perhaps a delayed result of the 'Beeching cuts' of the early 1960s, the line was closed by British Rail in 1968 once the Manchester to London Euston via Crewe electrification was completed.

In 1981 the Peak District National Park Authority opened much of the track bed as a walkway and cycleway, but the six tunnels remained closed making cycling the route somewhat impractical, and causing most walkers to prefer the uninterrupted and quite beautiful if meandering and sometimes muddy walk along the valley bottom alongside the River Wye.

In May 2011 the tunnels, having been illuminated along their lengths, were opened to the public principally to provide an uninterrupted 8.5 mile cycle route from east of Bakewell to Blackwell Mill in Wyedale. Here the original rail route split at a triangular junction, the Midland main line turning north through Great Rocks Dale (the scene today of much quarrying) to Chinley and on to Manchester, while a branch continued straight ahead up the Wye Valley to Buxton, joined by the third arm of the triangle from Great Rocks Dale towards Buxton. The route to Buxton from Great Rocks Dale is still in use by stone trains, as is the erstwhile Midland main line north from Great Rocks Dale to Chinley and beyond.

Diagram of the railway topology today (please click on the image to enlarge it)

Map of the Monsal Trail (please click on the image to enlarge it)

It was time to try this trail for ourselves, so today Peter de la Wyche and myself loaded our bikes into Peter's car and headed for Millers Dale.

Peter, with his bike, my bike, and his car
at the former Millers Dale station this morning

We headed east from Millers Dale and found the trail's surface to be smooth and well made. The southern of the twin viaducts at Millers Dale is the one used by the trail; we crossed this and soon came to our first tunnel, Litton Tunnel, closely followed by our second, Cressbrook Tunnel. All the tunnels on the trail are spacious and dry, and all but the short Chee Tor no.2 and Rusher cutting tunnels are lit by a row of electric lights hung from the crown of the roof in a line. Providing power for the lights involved running a low-voltage cable to Chee Tor No.1 Tunnel from the former station at Millers Dale, about half-a-mile away, whilst the other three are supplied via a transformer sited at Monsal Halt, tapping into an existing power source there. Nonetheless the tunnels seem dark as you plunge into them from the sunlight as the sooty walls absorb any light thrown at them, and many are curved so you can't see the far end. They are also quite cold compared to the warm sunny day outside, often with a cool breeze blowing through them.

Despite being illuminated, the tunnels can seem quite gloomy on a sunny day

This section of the trail emerges from tunnel straight out onto a ledge high over the Wye Valley, then plunges into tunnel again. At Monsal Head the Wye is crossed at the apex of a 180 degree meander in the river by the superb Monsal Dale viaduct. Beyond the viaduct the trail plunges immediately into Headstone Tunnel in the cliff face below Monsal Head.

Peter rests on Monsal Viaduct. Ahead, the trail plunges into
Headstone Tunnel in the cliff face below Monsal head

Looking down onto the peaceful Wye from Monsal Viaduct

One emerges from Headstone Tunnel into far less dramatic scenery, as we have now left the Wye Valley and are passing undulating fields to the pretty little station of Great Longstone.

Great Longstone station. Presumably the station building is fenced off
from the platform as it is now a private house.

We pressed on past Hassop and Bakewell to the end of the trail at Coombs Road viaduct, then turned around and rode back the other way


Our bikes at the former Bakewell station, where we stopped for a break


We stopped for a while at Hassop, where the station has been converted into a cafe and bookshop. We browsed the shelves of the later, though if we come again I might be tempted to have lunch here as the cafe looked good (we had brought sandwiches with us today).


Back at Great Longstone station, we had lunch on these steps, leading to nearby Thornbridge Hall. When the hall was built it was owned by Midland Railway director George Marples, and this was his private access to 'his' part of the station platform.


Between the Litton and Cressbrook tunnels is a few hundred yards of track bed built on a man-made ledge in the valley side. It afforded train travellers a snapshot view, but possibly the finest on the line, down into Water-Cum-Jolly-Dale. Unfortunately today the view is largely obscured by tree growth, a scourge of the modern railway as well as of former lines like this one.


Millers Dale again, with a view of the newer northern viaduct from the
original southern one, which today carries the trail


Looking over the southern side of Millers Dale viaduct


Me and my bike on Millers Dale viaduct


Millers Dale station from the trail. Back now at our start point, we carried on past here to the western end of the trail at Wyedale.


West from Millers Dale took us through Chee Tor tunnels one and two, and Rusher Cutting Tunnel, through Chee Dale to Wyedale and the trail's western end. We are now on the 'bottom arm' of the triangular junction referred to above and the route used to continue straight ahead along the Wye Valley to Buxton and beyond.


Looking down to the river from the end of the trail, we see someone enjoying a bit of fly fishing


Just before the end of the trail the track bed of the former midland main line up to Great Rocks Dale (the eastern arm of the triangle junction) branches off to the north. This is today part of the Pennine Bridleway and we cycled back to that junction (the eastern-most on the triangle) and followed what was the original Midland main line as far as we could (see picture above). From here it used to continue ahead curving round to the right into Great Rocks Dale and on to Chinley and Manchester. On the extreme left of the picture the trees indicate the Monsal Trail proper, the 'bottom' arm of the triangle, that line continuing straight ahead to Buxton. Below the trees on the horizon straight ahead is the final, western arm of the triangle. That is still in use by stone trains and connects Great Rocks Dale to Buxton.


Looking back from the point above, towards Millers Dale, which we are about to ride to get back to where we left Peter's car.

The Monsal Trail is an excellent facility, and I strongly recommend it to all cyclists. The original railway rose almost 600 feet between Rowsley and Buxton though it does undulate a bit, so riding from west to east is easier than east to west. Walking it is also quite possible of course, but as with most disused railways progress on foot would, I should think, seem frustratingly slow!

Manchester Ship Canal Cruise; 'The Big Ditch...'

I think It was about 1959 when I last did the trip along the Manchester Ship Canal. That was an outing from my primary school, I was about ten years old, and we went from Pomona Dock in Manchester (which no longer exists) to Pierhead at Liverpool. We returned by train, which in those days was steam-hauled, of course.

Today, on a trip organised by Wilmslow Guild independent adult education centre (http://wilmslowguild.wikidot.com/) myself and a friend did it again. Manchester and Salford docks are today unrecognisable by anyone who last saw them in the late 1950s. Back then, they were the busy terminus of one of Manchester's most vital arteries; they hummed with activity as giant cranes unloaded cargoes from row upon row of merchant ships which had sailed from far-away ports right into the heart of this great industrial city. Today the area is known as Salford Quays, and among the smart glass buildings and waterside apartment blocks only some preserved dock cranes and massive iron bollards indicate what this place used to be.

However, as our trip down the canal will reveal, there is still a great deal of commercial shipping activity on the canal, especially further west.

Our coach left the Guild at 08:45, arriving in plenty of time to catch our boat for the day, 'Snowdrop', a Liverpool ferry.

As ever, please click on the pictures twice for a full size image.

Our coach arrives at Salford Quays this morning

'Snowdrop', our Liverpool ferry which was to take us to its home port
awaits its passengers at Salford Quays


Brass plate on board 'Snowdrop'


The Lowry Bridge, in the 'raised' position for us to pass though

Passing Media City, the new home of TV and Radio in Salford


On the other side of the canal, the odd-looking building of Imperial War Museum North


Departure from Mode Wheel locks mark our transition from the dock area and entry into the canal proper


The de Traffords built this sandstone wall (visible in the gap in the undergrowth in the foreground) around their country estate at Trafford Park
'to keep industry out'. Well, that didn't work too well.....


The Centenary Bridge, linking Eccles to Traffod Park, is raised for us

Scrap metal wharf west of Eccles

One of the wonders of the canal - Barton Aqueduct, which carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Ship Canal and swings open containing a length of canal! Barton road swing bridge is behind it

The Barton Road swing bridge shuts behind us to allow the queues of waiting traffic to cross

Just west of the Barton swing bridges is the Manchester orbital motorway bridge, the M60. It opened in 1960 carrying what was then the M62 Eccles bypass. Work on the supports pre-dates the commencement of the first UK motorway, the Preston Bypass (now part of the M6) so can be said to be the earliest motorway works in UK.

When the motorway was widened from four lanes to six, the supports were strengthened with extra concrete pillars attached to the side of the originals, as can be seen in this picture.

West of the M60 there used to be nothing north of the canal as far as the Irlam Road except wasteland. Literally in the last few months, this structure, a new stadium for Salford Reds Rugby Club, has risen from the weeds

Peeking over the remaining weeds (as ever, please click twice on the picture for a full size image) are the listed control tower and main hangar of Barton Airfield, the original Manchester Airport until 1938, and playground for us private flyers in the years since

On entering Barton Locks, it was apparent that one lock gate wasn't working. A rope was rigged from the offending gate, via a pulley, to a winch to haul the gate shut (you may need to click on the picture to enlarge it to see this clearly). The Barton High Level Bridge can be seen in the background.

The river Mersey enters the ship canal over a weir. The canal cuts a fairly straight course along the Mersey valley to the Mersey estuary, and the original course of the river can be seen meandering north and south of the 'cut' at various points between here and west of Warrington


One of the Peel Ports container shuttle barges, used to move containers from ocean-going ships at Liverpool to points along the Ship Canal (today's ocean going ships are far to large to fit down the canal themselves). Note the 'pusher tug' at the back of the barge, with a bridge on a telescopic base that can be extended so the bridge can be raised to give a view over the stack of containers on the barge.


One of several high-level rail bridges over the canal, this one now disused was for the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) route from Skelton Junction near Timperley to the CLC line from Manchester to Liverpool. The canal was built after the railways, so the high level bridges had to be put in and the rail lines diverted over them.


Interestingly, although the railway line has been long disused, when the new Irlam by-pass road was built a 'tunnel' for it was made (left of the high level bridge, above), and the embankment made good again above the 'cut and cover' tunnel. Are there, perhaps, plans to re-open the railway at some time?


Warburton high level road bridge. If you drive over this bridge, you have to pay a toll. The toll is not for the high level bridge, though, but for an insignificant bridge a few hundred yards down the road that crosses the former course of the River Mersey.

Bollin Point, near Lymm, where the River Bollin enters the Ship Canal

Opposite Bollin Point, the original course of the Mersey loops off to the north


Thelwall Viaducts, carrying the M6 over the canal. The original viaduct is the nearer one, the newer one behind (further east) with its far less substantial support pillars. By now the rain had arrived, so the brollies and hats are out.


The rain didn't amount to much, and glass or two of this kept spirits up!


Knutsford Road swing bridge, Warrington, with another high level railway bridge in the background. This one used to carry the LNWR line from Skelton Junction to Warrington via Lymm.


Another meander of the Mersey comes in from the north to join the canal. A Cormorant on the wooden beam to the left dries its wings. The Ship Canal was highly polluted by industry in its heyday and would have been extemely poisonous, but these days the many water fowl are evidence that the water is clean enough to support plenty of fish. As well as the cormorants there are herons every half mile or so, oyster catchers, kingfishers (though we didn't see any of these) as well as ducks and swans and many other species.


West of Warrington Moor Lane bridge is the next-to-last swing bridge on the canal, and in the background the Euston to Glasgow West Coast Main Line crosses the canal on the last of the high level rail bridges

The last swing bridge is at Halton, as we approach the road and rail bridges at Runcorn

Fiddlers Ferry power station to the north, across the wide expanse of the Mersey

The main line from Liverpool to the south passes over the bridge on the left. The road bridge was opened in 1961 to replace the earlier transporter bridge. A new road bridge is planned upstream of this one as the 1961 bridge cannot cope with today's road traffic levels.

Oh, and the rain has stopped!

This powerful crane is used by the Ship Canal Company to lift lock gates. The giant barge behind it was used to transport a Concorde down the Thames on the way to its East Fortune retirement location, and to move Airbus A380 wings from the Broughton factory to the ship that takes them to Toulouse.

Lock gates stored by the side of the canal near Weston Point. The wall behind them divides the Ship Canal from the Mersey Estuary.

With the town of Frodsham in the background, the River Weaver joins the Ship Canal at Weston Point

Most of Stanlow oil refinery's product is shipped by pipeline, but some goes by coastal tanker. Here are two such vessels being loaded; note the line of bubbles around each one from an underwater pipe. This is to contain any spillage should that occur during loading.

The Boat Museum, Ellesmere Port. Here, the Shropshire Union Canal enters the Ship Canal, this being the distant port for the Shropshire town of Ellesmere.

This used to be the de-masting wharf, where ships with masts too tall to fit under the canal's bridges had them removed, to be re-fitted when the ship returned to the sea from the canal. Local shipping company Manchester Liners had retractable masts on their fleet to avoid the delay and extra costs of de-masting and re-masting.


Eastham Locks mark the end of the Ship Canal. Beyond here is the Mersey estuary and the open sea. At high tide the level of the sea is about the same as that of the canal, but at other times these locks retain the level of the canal and allow ships to make the transition between estuary and canal.


The canal is still very busy at its western end, with many ships entering and leaving. Here a coastal tanker with a Mersey tug on her stern to aid steering at low speed approaches the entry to the Ship Canal at Eastham Locks.

A gas transporter heads up the Mersey towards the Ship Canal

".....If you want a cathederal we've got one to spare". Giles Gilbert Scott's magnificent Anglican Cathederal dominates the Liverpool skyline. The Roman Catholic Cathederal ('Paddy's Wigwam') is to its left.

At the time of our arrival in Liverpool, the main ferry stage was occupied by 'Royal Daffodil', another Mersey ferry. We therefore called at Woodside on the Wirral side of the estuary before crossing to Liverpool. In the picture above, we approach Woodside Ferry Terminal.


The Liver Building and the Liverpool waterfront, seen as we approach the ferry terminal


Sister ship to our 'Snowdrop', 'Royal Daffodil' finally departs from the ferry terminal and passes down our starboard side, allowing us to dock


Passengers disembark at Liverpool at the end of our cruise from Manchester


There was a short walk from the ferry terminal to our coach for the journey back to Wilmslow. On the way, we passed this rather splendid sailing ship moored at Albert Dock.

Many thanks to Wilmslow Guild for organising a fascinating day out. Much has changed on the Manchester Ship Canal since my last trip in 1959, especially at the Manchester end. But surprisingly much is remarkably unchanged, especially at the seaward end. With the proposed opening of more container terminals along the canal by its owners, Peel Holdings, it seems the commercial future of the Manchester Ship Canal is assured.

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