Rails and trails:
High Peak Trail
Almost every kind of rock that occurs in the Peak District is, or has been quarried. The modern quarrying industry was initiated in the early nineteenth century and developed rapidly with the construction of the canal, tramway and railway systems which, for the first time, allowed transport and trade in bulk materials. Many quarries were opened alongside the tramways and railways and together they make a landscape all of their own. The High Peak Railway was constructed in 1822 to connect the Peak Forest Canal with the Cromford Canal. This facilitated trade between western and eastern England. Initially a horse-drawn tramway, locomotives began to be introduced on the High Peak Railway in the 1830s. |
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Inclines with gradients as steep as one in seven were negotiated by steam winding engines. Today, the High Peak Railway is a major cycle and hiking trail. Middleton Top Engine House is a prominent landmark on the trail and has a working winding engine and a cycle hire shop. There are numerous disused quarries alongside the trail and rail cuttings provide some fascinating geological exposures of limestone, shale, dolomite, basalt and sandstone. The trail provides valuable access to the central Peak District and connects with other trails, which themselves were former railways. |
