Stone Bridge Over Monsal Trail - Bakewell, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 12.894 W 001° 39.819
30U E 589235 N 5897010
This bridge carries an unnamed track over the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway which is now the 'rails-to-trails' Monsall Trail route.
Waymark Code: WMQADN
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/22/2016
Views: 2
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The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway ran from a junction with the Midland Railway at Ambergate to Rowsley north of Matlock and thence to Buxton.
In time it would become part of the Midland Railway's main line between London and Manchester, but it was initially planned as a route from Manchester to the East of England, via the proposed Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway which would meet it a little further north along the North Midland line at Ambergate. The Act for a line from just south of Stockport to Ambergate was passed in 1846."
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Monsal Trail
"The Monsal Trail is a traffic free route for walkers, cyclists, horse riders and wheelchair users through some of the Peak District's most spectacular limestone dales.
The trail runs along the former Midland Railway line for 8.5 miles between Blackwell Mill, in Chee Dale and Coombs Road, at Bakewell.
Most of the route was opened to the public in 1981 but four former railway tunnels had to remain closed due to safety reasons, with public footpaths taking people around them. From 25 May 2011 the four railway tunnels - Headstone Tunnel, Cressbrook Tunnel, Litton Tunnel, Chee Tor Tunnel – will also open for trail users. Each tunnel is about 400 metres long and will be lit during normal daylight hours."
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The Bridge
The bridge has a single arch and carries a footpath over the Monsal Trail. It is a stone bridge with a brick arch. At some point strengthening rods have been connected underneath the arch to protect it's form.
The footpath links Coombs Road to nearby fields which now form Bakewell golf course.