If you are looking for a dramatic countryside walk filled with interesting features, history and a few surprises (and without traipsing through a lot of mud), you’ll be hard pressed to better the 8.5 mile Monsal Trail. It’s a well known old railway walk (recently featured on tv) from near Buxton to Bakewell in the beautiful Peak District. I began my walk from Wyedale at the Buxton end.
Che Torr tunnels.
Interesting albeit limited lighting inside.
Undoubtedly the most exciting feature of the walk is the no less than six well preserved tunnels you go through. The longer ones are lit, so you won’t need a torch. It’s great fun if you’re walking with children and surprisingly interesting if you are snapping your way along with your camera. Even in the shorter unlit tunnels, the light from each end reflects off the damp inside walls and creates an interesting effect, before you even get to experiment in Photoshop!
I often try to avoid people on landscape phot0s (and be prepared to pass lots on this walk), but inside the tunnel they gave a good focal point and scale. If you aren’t lugging a heavy tripod along with you, you will need to uprate your camera’s ISO to at least 800, reduce the exposure (the contrasting bright light at the tunnel end will confuse your camera’s internal light meter), hold steady and be prepared to waste many shots trying to get a sharp one.
One of several over-bridges.
A closer shot of the side of the bridge.
A bridge nicely frames the route ahead, but look a little closer, change angle and you will be able to create a more pleasing shot. I liked the sunlight shimmering off the dark brickwork contrasting with the blue sky and green of the ivy.
Striking lime kilns by the trackside at Miller’s Dale.
One of the surprises you will pass is the dramatic futuristic lime kilns at Miller’s Dale. Any landscape photo is of course much helped by a striking blue sky or billowing clouds!
Miller’s Dale Station.
Miller’s Dale station platforms and main station building are well preserved and made for another worthy photo stop. My aim was to cut out cars, ice cream van, ugly signage and scattering of people, prams and bikes in the foreground, to make the shot look as nostalgic and authentic as possible. As well as what you DO want to include in your shot, you should also look out for what you DON’T want.
Rusting bridge.
Next to the station is a rusting iron bridge, which in the high contrast light looked interesting. A jaunty angle balances the shot with a bottom left to top right direction and gives converging lines.
Disconnected old telegraph pole.
The next feature I wanted to snap was this old telegraph pole, which having once supported a great deal of wires looked rather important.
Old water tank.
There was something nice about the corner of this old water tank, still in place beside the old railway. I loved the lines of rivets ladder and shadows. It appealed to my photography and railway history interest!
Don’t forget to admire the surrounding flora and fauna!
Stunning scenery along the line.
I can’t resist another inside tunnel photo, in one of the longest of them. From a photography point of view, such a shame that they need to place large ugly (and stating the completely obvious!) ‘warning tunnel ahead’ signs at the entrance to each!
Well lit and preserved.
The longer railway tunnels are wonderful to walk through and very cold inside by the way. As you approach you feel a rush of cold air hit your face, which is refreshing on a warm day! It really feels like you are deep underground, especially as you emerge into a bright new landscape afterwards.
Moss on rock cutting.
Near the tunnel entrance I observed an abundance of the most lush looking moss thickly carpeting the rock walls and dripping with water; delightful to photograph in dappled sunlight.
Monsal Dale from the viaduct.
At Monsal Head with it’s dramatic viaduct, there’s a lovely view up Monsal Dale, undoubtedly the highlight of this walk judging y the dozens of walkers, joggers, cyclists and picnickers congregating there.
Light, shade and colour from the viaduct.
The well known viewpoint, often featured in leaflets and guides, is taken from the road at the top of hill high above the viaduct and near the entrance to Headstone Tunnel. It’s a very steep hike to get up to it after you’ve been walking for a couple of hours and I stopped just short of the top for my final shot. This was because, with the sun in the wrong place, putting the viaduct in shadow and meaning I was facing the sun (rarely a good thing unless it’s a sunset you’re after). For a better photo, you’re probably best being there in the morning. From here and with time running short, I veered off the Monsal Trail a couple of miles short of Bakewell, to catch a bus from the pretty village of Ashford.
Monsal Head.
I hope you have enjoyed my latest ramble. Here’s a few of my TRAVEL TIPS to finish with:
If you’re arriving by train, there’s an hourly service from Manchester Piccadilly to Buxton (and a very scenic journey). Consider a ‘Wayfarer‘ day ticket for £12 which covers all trains and buses covering a large area. I started from Chorley. Buses from Buxton (opposite station) are also hourly (to Derby) and similar returning from Bakewell or Ashford (to Manchester). Alight at Topley Pike (Wyedae) and follow signs for the start of the walk. If driving, there are pay and display car parks at Topley Pike and Miller’s Dale. They’re a bit pricey and may be busy.
Join me to more Photographer’s Ramblings coming soon!…