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27 November 2009
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	Monsal Head Viaduct, Derbyshire



	At the heart of the Peak District, Monsal Head Viaduct, Derbyshire, is one of the most prominent features on the popular Monsal Trail. The viaduct, measuring 100 yards across with five magnificent supportive arches, was built in Victorian times to allow the Midland Railway to cross overhead. Opened in 1863 to widespread criticism from those who felt it destroyed the beauty of the Wye valley, the viaduct remained in use for 100 years until it closed in 1968, later to be used as a cycleway and footpath and listed as a site of architectural and historical interest. Now in the custodianship of the Peak District National Park Authority, the Wye Valley in which the viaduct stands is also credited as an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) due to the varied flora and fauna which are found there.

Monsal Head Viaduct Facts

address: Monsal Head Viaduct, Derbyshire, Peak District.
tel: Peak District National Park Authority - 01629 816200
prices: Free public access.
open: Year round.
parking: Pay-and-display car park at Monsal Head Hotel with designated disabled parking bay free to blue badge holders. Disabled toilets. A large public pay-and-display car park is situated behind the Monsal Head Hotel, which overlooks Monsal Dale.
access: All routes to the top of the viaduct involve some steep climbs and pathways should be used with care.
transport: Monsal Head is by the village of Little Longstone, about four miles from Bakewell. By road, take the A6, turning off at the sign for Ashford in the Water and Monsal Head. Join the A6020, turn left at the sign into the village of Ashford and then turn right onto the B6465. Follow the road and turn left just before the Monsal Head Hotel into the pay-and-display car park. The nearest mainline train stations are Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and Manchester, with the nearest local stations at Matlock, Chesterfield and Hope. Connecting bus services run from each of these stations.
toilets: Public toilets available by the Monsal Head Hotel car park including one disabled toilet.
food: Monsal Head View Café and picnic tables located in the car park with views over the dale.

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See Also

BBC - Derby - In Pictures - Monsal Viaduct

Peak District National Park Authority

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