Send it by rail: Doveholes sidings
Pickfords, the international transport company has its origins in this area. It began in the 17th century moving stone using teams of packhorses. By 1796, the Peak Forest Tramway was taking limestone from Dove Holes to the Peak Forest Canal, along which it was then moved by barge to Manchester and the Lancashire chemicals industry.
Railways had a major influence over the growth of Buxton as a tourist centre, as well as in the development of the quarries in the area. The Cromford and High Peak Railway was completed in 1830 to link the Peak Forest Canal with the Cromford Canal to the east.
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The High Peak Railway was originally conceived as a canal (although it was soon realised that the limestone areas could not retain water!). However, the finished line was built as a series of contour-hugging flat sections linked by seven rope-hauled inclines.
In the 1860s, the main railway line from the south reached Buxton and other lines linked with Manchester and Stockport. A short section through Great Rocks Dale by-passed the town and by 1899, the final route which went southwards to Ashbourne, was opened. Numerous quarries were opened alongside these lines. These include the seven Buxton quarries still operating. These currently deliver nearly 3 million tonnes of stone a year by rail, much of which passes through Dove Holes sidings.
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