Diana and I love cycling on disused railway grades. Railway grades have gentle inclines, gentle curves, and wind around the landscape in a way that is typically much more aesthetically pleasing than regular roads or trails. As such, we are always on the lookout for rails-to-trails projects, and when I heard of the Tissington Trail I immediately added it to my bucket list.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) line running between Ashbourne and Buxton was inaugurated in 1899. The line was axed in 1967 as part of the Beeching Cuts, a cost-cutting program that resulted in the discontinuation of many railway lines across Great Britain. The railway right-of-way was sold to the Peak District National Park in 1968, and in 1971 the trail was opened for recreational use. It is now known as the Tissington Trail, named for a village along the route.
The trail starts in the center of Ashbourne, in a parking lot beside Henmore Brook. We started out by walking. Soon after the parking lot the trail enters a 1/4 mile (400 m) long railway tunnel. We emerged from the tunnel at the bicycle rental shop, where we picked up our bikes.
At first the trail went through some forest. There was a steep dip where a railway bridge had once been – the current bridge that crosses the creek is much smaller and has a lower bridge deck. Soon, the trail started climbing and the views started to open up.
We took a short detour to check out the village of Tissington. Here I am cycling past Tissington Hall.
The region we were cycling through is referred to as the Peak District. Despite this name, the landscape consists mostly of rolling hills. Nothing wrong with that – these hills are very pretty.
Miles and miles of dry stone walls encircle paddocks with blindingly green grass.
Stopping to take in the views.
Looking towards the village of Biggin.
We really lucked out with the weather: it was sunny and there was no wind. We stopped for an ice cream cone at Hartington Station.
Most people turn around at Parsley Hay, where there are facilities such as a car park, bicycle hire, and a cafe. We cycled on a bit further, to the end of the trail at the 16.5 mile mark, and from there we cycled back the way we came. Here is Diana near the end of the trail.
The ride back to Ashbourne is mostly coasting.
Bonus day: Hiking Dovedale
We had scheduled two full days in Ashbourne, to give us some flexibility with regards to the weather, bicycle availability, and other possible eventualities. But the sun shone and everything worked and we managed to cycle on our first day there. Which left us with a bonus day. We decided to use this day to explore the Dove Valley, which runs west of the Tissington Trail.
We began by hiking across a hill towards the village of Mappleton.
There were some pretty flowering trees in Mappleton. (Mapleton? Mappleton? I saw this village spelled in different ways)
At Mappleton we picked up a path along the River Dove.
River Dove.
We hiked towards the north alongside the River Dove.
Farmhouse in the Dovedale valley.
There were a lot of sheep. A lot of sheep. Here is a ewe with two lambs.
We hiked to a fork in the river, where there was a large National Trust car park swarming with people. Most people were there to hike a path through a limestone gorge. We didn’t feel like joining the crowds, so we struck out on a quieter trail that headed across a hillside towards the village of Thorpe.
Thorpe is a pretty village just a short distance away from the Tissington Trail. We didn’t make the detour the previous day, while we were cycling, so I’m glad we had a second chance at a visit.
Church, Thorpe.
Trail with wild garlic, Thorpe.
From Thorpe we walked over to the Tissington Trail, which we followed back to Ashbourne. Here are a few pictures from Ashbourne.
Logistics
We took a train from London St. Pancras to Derby, and from Derby we took a bus to Ashbourne.
There are two bike rental shops in Ashbourne: one along the Tissington Trail, and another (the Bike Barn) is in town. The bikes came with helmets.
I cannot recommend the B&B we stayed in, but there are other options. What I can recommend is a place for dinner: The George and Dragon pub. The food is good and it has a great atmosphere. Their Sunday Roast is delicious.
Near Parsley Hay, the Tissington Trail connects with the High Peak Trail, another rails-to-trails project, which heads southeast to Cromford. In theory it would be possible to make a loop by cycling up the Tissington Trail, down the High Peak Trail, and then finding your way on country roads back to Ashbourne. This would be a very long day, and you may have trouble returning your bikes before the rental shops close.
The Tissington Trail is 16.5 miles long, so an out-and-back trip is 33 miles or just slightly more than 50 km. The surface is gravel. Note that most of the trail is up in the grassy hills where there are very few trees, and as such the trail is very exposed to the elements. We had a perfect day for cycling, but it would be a miserable outing if it was raining and windy. We cycled the trail in late April.
Ashbourne is roughly halfway between Birmingham and Manchester.
