The Monsal Trail is one of Britain’s wowest-factor bike paths, stretching eight car-free miles between Bakewell and Annoyingly Not Quite Buxton. Once a mainline railway, it’s excitingly fitted out with half-a-dozen tunnels and several bridges, and offers some lofty views down over the Wye Valley. (Not that Wye. This Wye.)
All this is fairly recent. Until 2010 or so the tunnels were out of use, and going round them meant some tedious walking up and down hillsides. Now however they’re fully lined, lit and lovely, and the trail as a whole – with smooth tarmac or decent smooth gravel, all well-drained – is a super little biking experience.
Except for one thing. The Buxton end. Because it’s not near Buxton. The trail ends three miles from the train station there – where I was heading today – and the only workable route to it is along the horrible, fast, busy A6.
Still, first things first. I set out very early from the hostel, intent on stealing a march on the day, appropriately on this last day of February. It was very cold, and the hills were all white with rime, or perhaps hoar, or maybe just frost.
A bit of the Tissington Trail and then quiet back lanes through Monyash, some of them icy and best walked I thought, got me to Bakewell where I could join the Monsal. (The start proper is a mile or two southeast of Bakewell.)
The Monsal used to be the route of the London-Manchester Midland Railway. Expresses would thunder through the tunnels and up the narrow dales. Now it’s joggers, dog walkers, strollers, families with kids on balance bikes, brisk people in lycra on posh gravel bikes, and cycling writer-bloggers on a cheapo Halfords MTB bodged into being a tourer.
Not far out of Bakewell and right on the trail is Hassops, an excellent cafe. I had a flat white but decided that, despite my early start, I didn’t quite have enough time before my train to save up for a flapjack, so carried on. It was warmer now, sunny and bright, and everyone on the trail was in a smiling mood.
Going west from Bakewell to Buxton, as I did, means you’re going slightly uphill all the time, gaining about 100m in eight miles, or if you prefer, 330ft in 13km. It isn’t really noticeable, though if you do the trail as an out-and-back from Bakewell, you’ll feel the benefit of the downhill on the return leg.
Not long after the final pair of tunnels at Chee came the unceremonious end of the trail, and that unpleasant battle with fast cars and lorries into Buxton.
It’s been four days of very enjoyable leisure riding round quiet lanes and car-free paths with plenty of grand frame-filling Peaks scenery.
And it’s been good value too: £40 for three nights at the hostel, and free train travel thanks to Northern Railway’s complimentary ticket option for Delay Repay claims. I gave a talk a couple of weeks ago for the Cycle Touring Festival about touring on a budget; this proves I practise what I preach. Cheers!