Above: The view from Monsal Head across to Monsal Dale is truly breathtaking. This walk will take you over the small footbridge just visible in the far distance.
At just under two miles, this walk is the shortest on the website. It also doesn’t touch the Monsal Trail – although it does go both under and above it. I’ve included it as the route is perfect for anyone wanting a quick leg stretch, and offers some wonderful views both from Monsal Head and along the River Wye.
There are a few irregular steps on the narrow path down the slope so it wouldn’t be easy for anyone with a pushchair. And it drops some 250 feet so there’s a bit of a climb on the way back. But it’s not steep and is well worth the effort.
The route goes through one of the tall arches supporting Headstone Viaduct – an impressive feat of Victorian engineering that once carried steam trains on a line connecting London with Manchester – which today forms the Monsal Trail (click for brief history of the line).
Above: Click the map to open in a new window.
It also passes a weir which I always assumed must have been built to channel water into one of the many water mills situated along the River Wye. But according to Alan Robert’s ‘Bakewell & The Wye Valley Through Time‘ book, it was built as a landscape feature for visitors to Chatsworth.
The foundations beside the weir are from a more recent hydro-power turbine which once supplied electricity to the nearby hamlet of Brushfield.
Picnic & paddling spot
Just downstream of the weir is a popular spot for picnics, where children can safely play in the shallows. The walk then crosses a small footbridge, before heading back through the trees towards Monsal Head. Recent felling of diseased elms on this side of the valley has opened up views across to the viaduct.
Refreshments at Monsal Head are available at Hobbs Cafe, as well as the Monsal Head Hotel. The Packhorse Inn in nearby Little Longstone is also worth a visit. Monsal Head is on a regular bus route and the nearest stations are at Buxton, Matlock and Gridleford.
Click below for full step-by-step instructions and photos.
A ‘Relive’ version of the walk. Click to play and use the expand option to view in full-screen. Click here for more Monsal Trail ‘Relives’.