Peak District National Park in Derbyshire UK Gorgeous Photos That Will Inspire You to Visit

Millers Dale is a little hamlet on the edge of a beautiful picturesque part of Great Britain called the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire. Millers Dale is situated along the River Wye between Braxton and Tideswell, a bit off the beaten path.

A hamlet is of course a small settlement, or village, and a dale (over hill and dale) is a valley in case any of my readers are not familiar with these terms. Derbyshire is a county just like the counties we have in the U.S. Brits never put an apostrophe before the s in Millers Dale. These are just a few things that may help you better understand things that are different, as well as things that are similar in the UK, to how they are here in the states.

The photographs here were taken along Monsal Trail, which follows the River Wye and what used to be a section of an old train track that connected Manchester to London. The railway was closed down in 1968.

It is generally believed that the “Beaching Axe” closed the railroad down, but in fact it was closed by Barbara Castle, the Labor Minister for Transport at that time. The old Millers Dale train station still stands along the Monsal Trail. See a photo of it in this hub.

The “Beeching Axe” refers to Dr. Richard Beeching (Baron), a physicist and engineer who while serving as chairman of British Railways, was instrumental in closing many miles of railroad tracks in Britain in an effort to cut costs. Because he closed many tracks and stations he became known as the Beeching Axe, presumably for “axing,” or closing so many stations and tracks.

Some people believe it was a good thing when the tracks and train station along the River Wye stopped rolling because the area was being desecrated by all of the industrial growth, killing the natural beauty.

Walkers, runners, and bikers are surrounded by breathtaking surroundings along Monsal Trail, as you can see from the magnificent photos. The trail is reported to be wheel chair friendly along most of the way.

Millers Dale got its name from the many watermills that once populated the area. Some historians believe there was probably a mill at Millers Dale even as long ago as during the time of the Norman Conquest (1066), although Millers Dale is not recorded in what is referred to as the Domesday Book. There is much more information about the many diverse watermills that used to be located in this area by clicking here.

According to info@peakdistrictonline.co.uk, Millers Dale and Monsal Dale used to have two large cotton mills, Cressbrook and Litton Mill, the latter famous not for its operations, but for its owner Ellis Needham, who was noted for the horrific conditions his workers -- “pauper children” endured. It is reported that many of the graves of the orphans employed at the Needham mill still remain in local churchyards near where the old Litton Mill used to operate.

There are rich limestone deposits all around the Peak’s District and quarry operators naturally increased their productivity when the railway was installed. Dozens of limekilns were built along the track but only 4 remain, reportedly blended into the landscape with time, since they have not operated for many years.

For several years the train track bed could not be followed because the tunnels that the railway tracks had passed through were not safe and so those tunnels were closed. Info@peakdistrictonline.co.uk reports that those tunnels like the one pictured in this article were reopened in 2011 after being made safe again at a cost of £3.85m pounds.

When I received these extraordinary photos from a good friend in Britain, I knew I had to get his permission to share them. I received that permission and I hope you will enjoy his photos as much as I do.

Click here for a short video about the tunnels reopening.