Walking Old Railway Tracks

There are many old railways line in the country and they can make very tempting walks. Apart from the historical interest, the views from an embankment or viaduct can be quite exceptional, the wildlife abundant, and sometimes you can get to parts of the countryside not accessible by road. However, since the lines have always been private property - either that of the railway authority of the day, or of individual landowners - it has often been difficult to access them legitimately, not least because it has sometimes been difficult to find out who the actual owner is, in order to seek permission.

Nowadays, however, many abandoned railways are being turned into attractive public footpaths, with good surfaces for walking - and often also for cycling of horse riding. For finding which of these tracks are open to the public and for what purpose, the excellent Ordnance Survey Explorer series of maps is highly recommended.

As an example of just how many lines of this type that are now accessible to the public, here is a list of those in just one county:

Derbyshire

• The Derwent Valley Heritage Trail, from the point where it crosses the present day railway west of Bamford station to a point just below Ladybower dam, follows the course of a line that was used in the early part of the 20th century to transport materials for the construction of Howden and Derwent dams.
• The Five Pits Trail follows the line of the former Great Central Railway between Tibshelf and Grassmoor.
• The High Peak Trail, formerly the Cromford & High Peak Railway, runs across some superb Derbyshire moorland and is almost unique for a railway line in having some very steep gradients (up to 1 in 8, or about 12%); these were formerly rope worked inclines. The path runs from the Cromford Canal to Parsley Hay, where it joins:
• The Tissington Trail, part of the former London & North Western Railway between Ashbourne and Buxton. The path runs from Ashbourne to a point just beyond Hurdlow. A section at the Ashbourne end of the Trail runs through the 380 yard (350 m) former railway tunnel.
• The Monsal Trail, part of the former Midland Railway between Matlock and Buxton, through spectacular valley scenery including the famous viaducts at Monsal Dale and Millers Dale. The path runs from a point east of Bakewell to Chee Dale, east of Buxton, and includes several tunnels; the longest of these have been equipped with lighting.
• The Peak Forest Tramway Trail follows the line of the former Peak Forest Tramway between Bugsworth Basin (Buxworth) and Charley Lane, near Bridgeholm Green.
• The Rowthorne Trail and the Teversal Trail: the Teversal Trail is located mainly in Nottinghamshire; a section in Derbyshire follows the lines of two railways leading south east from Pleasley, one the former Midland Railway and the other the former Great Northern Railway. The Rowthorne Trail leaves the Teversal trail at the site of West Pleasley Juction and follows the former Midland Railway line towards Bolsover as far as the place where Rowthorn (sic) & Hardwick station once stood, near Rowthorne village.
• The Sett Valley Trail follows almost the whole of the former branch (Great Central and Midland Railway Joint) from New Mills to Hayfield. It is possible to continue beyond Hayfield by footpaths following the line of the Kinder Railway (a temporary extension of the Hayfield branch used during the construction of Kinder Reservoir) as far as Bowden Bridge. The footpaths run more or less parallel to Kinder Road, but on the opposite bank of the River Sett.
• The Trans Pennine Trail, part of the former Great Central Railway between Manchester and Sheffield. The path runs from Hadfield, through the broad valley of Longdendale beside a series of reservoirs, to the portal of the Woodhead Tunnel. It then leaves the railway to pass over the hills into Yorkshire, where it joins the line again.
• Another section of the Trans Pennine Trail, which here also forms part of National Cycle Route 67, follows the former Great Central Railway Sheffield to London main line from Killamarsh on the border of Yorkshire as far as Staveley. From there, an unnamed cycle path continues along the line to Arkwright Town.
• National Cycle Route 6 follows the former Melbourne Railway from Weston Lane, near Swarkestone, across the River Trent and on to Worthington in Leicestershire.
• National Cycle Route 54 follows part of the former Great Northern Railway line which ran from Nottingham via Derby to join the North Staffordshire Railway at Egginton Junction. The section in use runs between the Derby suburb of Mackworth and a point near the site of Egginton Junction, on the A5132 between the villages of Egginton and Hilton. The route deviates from the railway line for just a short distance in Mickleover.
• Chester Green: a very short stretch of the same Great Northern line in Derby is used as a footpath and cycle path between City Road (Chester Green) and Bath Street, crossing the River Derwent by the old railway bridge.
• National Cycle Route 67 as well as the section mentioned under Trans Pennine Trail, route 67 follows a stretch from Stanton-by-Dale to High Lane (west of Ilkeston) of the former Midland Railway branch from Stanton Gate to Mapperley Colliery.

© 2002-2011 Glyn Williams