• Monk's Dale and end of the Monsal Trail

    August 9 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We drive to Wyedale car park for the final walk (8) of the Monsal Trail booklet to complete it at its end (Topley Rise Junction).

    We walk back along Wyedale and turn off to follow the Pennine Bridleway (PBW) up to the ancient village of Wormhill, zigzagging up the side of the steep Chee Dale valley towards Mosley Farm; from here, we cross meadows and leave the PBW and then cross fields towards Hassop Farm and on to Wormhill. We skirt the village and then walk via bridleways and tracks up to a footpath that takes us down to Monk's Dale, which heads south on the east of Wormhill, down to the Monsal Trail.

    Monk's Dale is one of the five valleys in the Derbyshire Dales National Park; the valley is dry over the summer, but it has a winterbourne stream that runs into the River Wye at Miller's Dale. The footpath along the valley is challenging rough terrain for walkers, comprising slippery limestone rocks in a wood. We make it and eventually emerge from the rocks and trees to the more open part of the Dale and walk down to Miller's Dale Railway Station to walk the final part of the Monsal Trail to its end.

    We pass an old lime kiln as we walk along the valley, with steep crags and the slopes of Chee Dale around us. We reach the Chee Tor tunnels (401 and 94 yards long, respectively) constructed to allow the Midland Railway to skirt the base of Chee Tor. We eventually reach Topley Rise Junction and the end of the Monsal Trail before returning to the car. It's been a good and interesting 10 mile walk!
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