place

Blackwell Mill

Peak DistrictRail transport in DerbyshireRailway stations closed in 1967Transport in DerbyshireUse British English from February 2017
Blackwell mill geograph.org.uk 176189
Blackwell mill geograph.org.uk 176189

Blackwell Mill is a location in Derbyshire, near to the village of Blackwell near Buxton, but not part of it. There was once a corn mill on the River Wye which may have dated from 1066. Most of it has disappeared, apart from the weir. What is left is marked as an Ancient Monument. It stands at the meeting point of several valleys: Great Rocks Dale, Chee Dale and Ashford Dale. In times past the Manchester Turnpike forded the river. It marks the northern end of the public path from Bakewell, used by walkers and cyclists, called the Monsal Trail. The trail follows the trackbed of the former Midland Railway main line from London to Manchester. Blackwell Mill lies between Bakewell and Buxton, on the Midland's attempt to extend the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway into Manchester. This point was the south curve of the triangular junction which it built when it, instead, extended to New Mills. There was a railway station variously called "Blackwell Mill" or "Blackwell Mill Halt". Long enough only for one carriage, it was reputed to be the smallest passenger station on British Railways. It consisted of two short platforms, with no buildings, apart from a small shelter, which although derelict is still standing despite. The station was last used in June 1966 and officially closed in 1967. The halt was for the railway workers who lived in the still-existing, and still occupied, eight terraced cottages nearby in the valley. The station was also included in a Pathé News film in 1938.Passengers and goods from Buxton wishing to transfer to or from the Midland Main Line travelled past this point, to then change trains at Millers Dale. The branch carried on into Buxton along Wye Dale, crossing the main A6 road and the river by a high twin-arched girder bridge, before entering Pig Tor Tunnel (191 yards), where it emerged into Ashwood Dale, followed by the 100-yard (91 m) Ashwood Dale Tunnel.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Blackwell Mill (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Blackwell Mill
Monsal Trail, Derbyshire Dales

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Blackwell MillContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 53.2503 ° E -1.8336 °
placeShow on map

Address

Monsal Trail
SK17 9TF Derbyshire Dales
England, United Kingdom
mapOpen on Google Maps

Blackwell mill geograph.org.uk 176189
Blackwell mill geograph.org.uk 176189
Share experience

Nearby Places

Chee Dale
Chee Dale

Chee Dale is a steep-sided gorge on the River Wye near Buxton, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. The Wye valley continues upstream towards Buxton as Wye Dale, while downstream are Miller's Dale village and valley.Chee Dale has a protected nature reserve (close to the village of Wormhill), which is overseen by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. The reserve contains ash, yew and rock whitebeam woodland on the cliff sides and abundant wild flowers including cowslips, early purple orchids, rock rose and the rare Jacob's ladder. Dippers are often seen darting low above the river and bobbing on rocks in the river. Other birds nesting in the valley include blackcap, chiffchaff and willow warbler. Chee Dale is part of the Wye Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), running for 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of Buxton. The Monsal Trail bridleway runs for 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from Topley Pike Junction (at the head of Chee Dale) to Rowsley near Bakewell, along the disused Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway line. It passes through Upper Chee Dale and then enters Chee Tor Tunnels 1 and 2 through to Miller's Dale.There is also a riverside footpath along the length of Chee Dale with several wooden footbridges over the river. Sets of stepping stones allow walkers to pass the foot of the cliffs.The crags of carboniferous limestone in Upper Chee Dale and of Chee Tor cliff in Lower Chee Dale have extensive rock climbing routes. These include the overhanging Cornice and Chee Tor. Chee Tor has the Chee Tor Girdle route, a 167-metre (548 ft) horizontal traverse 20 metres (66 ft) above the cliff base, first climbed in 1964 by Chris Jackson and J. Atkinson.At the head of Chee Dale, Great Rocks Dale enters from the north, at the former railway stations of Blackwell Mill and Chee Dale Halt. Great Rocks Dale is a dry valley and is the site of Tunstead Quarry, one of the largest limestone quarries in the UK.The Pennine Bridleway crosses the River Wye over a footbridge at Blackwell Mill. Access into the deep gorge is limited. Miller's Dale car park is the obvious place for visitors to get into Chee Dale. At the west end of Chee Dale there is Topley Pike layby with limited parking by the A6 road. There is also a short steep footpath into Chee Dale from Wormhill.

Chelmorton
Chelmorton

Chelmorton is a village and a civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It is in the Derbyshire Dales district and the nearest towns are Buxton to the northwest and Bakewell to the east. The name Chelmorton derives from Old English (a personal name + dūn) and probably means 'Ceolmaer's hill' (or 'Cēolmær's hill'). The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 322.Chelmorton village lines a long street in a high, shallow basin on a limestone plateau, part of the White Peak area of the Peak District National Park. The village is surrounded by a regular pattern of rectangular fields that are bordered by limestone walls; the layout of these indicates that the village had one or possibly two medieval open fields, before enclosure occurred at a subsequent unspecified time.In the 12th century the village was known as Chelmerdon(e). The parish church of Saint John the Baptist is 11th century. At the opposite end of the village stands its oldest dwelling, Townend Farm, built originally by Isaiah Buxton in 1634. With its four Venetian windows and pedimented doorway it is also known locally as Chelmorton Hall. This ancestral home and family seat of the Marsden family has an enclosed courtyard with elaborate outbuildings. The Church Inn is at the bottom of Chelmorton Low. Other sites of interest are the Rakes, and the source of the village's traditional water supply, Illy Willy Water. Children from Chelmorton go to Harpur Hill Primary School, Buxton Community School, Monyash Primary School and Lady Manners School.

Deep Dale
Deep Dale

Deep Dale is a short steep-sided gorge near Buxton, Derbyshire, in the Peak District of England. It is distinct from another Deep Dale, near Sheldon, 4 miles (6.4 km) to the east. The dale is cut into a plateau of farmland and lies just south west of the hamlet of King Sterndale. The head of the valley is called Back Dale and there is a side valley called Horseshoe Dale. Wye Dale is at the foot of the valley to the north. The valley is dry over the summer but has a winterbourne stream, fed by the Deepdale Side Resurgence spring and another spring by Thirst House Cave further up the valley. The stream runs into the River Wye. Thirst House Cave's name is derived from Th'Hurst House as it was earlier called Hob Hurst House, named after a goblin believed to live in the cave (not to be confused with Hob Hurst's House prehistoric burial mound on Beeley Moor). The cave is 58 metres (190 ft) long. Local men Micah Salt and Robert Milletts excavated the cave in the 1880s and 1890s, after boys found a bear's skull in the cave. They discovered Roman artefacts, including bronze jewellery, enamelled brooches, pottery fragments, coins and an iron and bone knife. Many of these objects are on display in the Buxton Museum.Deep Dale and Topley Pike is a protected nature reserve, which is overseen by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. The reserve contains whitebeam, yew, ash and hazel trees and limestone fern on the lower scree slopes, with bilberry, cowberry and wild flowers on the steep upper slopes, including bloody crane's bill, clustered bellflower, rock rose and Nottingham catchfly. Without sheep grazing, the native grasses of meadow oat and carnation sedge flourish. The limestone cliffs are an attractive habitat for kestrels and jackdaws. Topley Pike and Deep Dale is also a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).The Buxton to Chelmorton section of the Midshires Way long-distance footpath runs across Deep Dale. The Priest's Way path runs through the valley floor of Deep Dale and Horseshoe Dale. The Peak District Boundary Walk route comes down Deep Dale and along Wye Dale before heading north at Chee Dale. The crags of carboniferous limestone in Deep Dale are popular with rock climbers. There are four buttresses along the valley with many climbing routes.Topley Pike Quarry is a large limestone quarry at the north west end of Deep Dale. It was opened in 1907 by Messrs. Newton Chambers & Co. and is currently operated by Tarmac Roadstone Holdings Ltd. A drystone wall runs along the length of the floor of the dale and marks the boundary between the mining rights of Buxton Mining Liberty and the Combined Liberty of Taddington, Flagg, Monyash and Upper Haddon.Access into the deep gorge is limited. Wye Dale car park (over the A6 road at the north end of Deep Dale) is the easiest place for visitors to walk from. There are four other entry points over stiles into the dale and its nature reserve from neighbouring dales (Chelmorton, King Sterndale, Horseshoe Dale and Brierlow Dale), although these have steep slopes. The footpath through the lower section of Deep Dale is closed from 2017 until 2025 for natural restoration, following the removal of a large spoil tip (waste from the quarry). A diversion is in place to the east.

Wormhill
Wormhill

Wormhill is a village and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England, situated east by north of Buxton. The population of the civil parish including Peak Dale was 1,020 at the 2011 Census.Wormhill was mentioned in the Domesday book as belonging to Henry de Ferrers and containing 20 acres (81,000 m2) of meadow. The name is said by the English Place-Name Society to be derived from the Old English 'Wyrma's hyll'.There was a tradition of wolf hunting in Wormhill in the fourteenth century. It was said that a living was made by some and that an annual tribute of wolfheads was shown. It has been reported that the last wolf killed in England was at Wormhill Hall in the 15th century.From 1863 to 1967 the village was served by Millers Dale railway station, some 2 miles away, which was on the Midland Railway's extension of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway. The disused railway line is now the Monsal Trail bridleway. A footpath south of the village leads to the nearby River Wye in Chee Dale. The Peak District Boundary Walk runs past Wormhill on its way from Buxton to Peak Forest.It has memorials to James Brindley, pioneer builder of Britain's canals, who was born in 1716 in the hamlet of Tunstead within Wormhill parish. The well in Wormhill is dedicated to Brindley. As part of the annual well dressing festival the Brindley well is decorated each year and there is also a smaller well dressing in the churchyard of St Margaret's Church in the village. The lower part of a cross shaft and its stepped base stand in the churchyard. A sundial dated 1670 tops the broken shaft. Only the base of the church tower is medieval; the rest of the church was "almost rebuilt" in 1864, and a transept added in 1904–10.Near the church and Brindley's well can be found the old village stocks. At the north end of the village lies the hamlet of Hargate (now part of Wormhill), where the industrialist Robert Whitehead and notorious mill owner Ellis Needham once lived.