WALK ROUTES
MAY Walk - Matlock
Derbyshire
Organised by Geoff Wardle
Sunday May 13th 2018
Explorer OL24
All of the walks are circular from the town of Matlock and involve some climbing to give us excellent views of the local countryside.
Short- 7.5 mile, Keith King
We leave Matlock heading North West along the Derwent River on the Derwent Valley Heritage Way to Oker and then Darley Bridge. We the head South passed Wensley to Upper Town and then Bonsall. From here we head for a path above the town of Matlock Bath passing The Heights of Abraham before dropping down into Matlock.
Medium walk - 11 mile - Geoff Wardle
We leave Matlock heading North West along the Derwent River on the Derwent Valley Heritage Way to Oker and then Darley Bridge. We turn West passing Cowley Knowl to the village of Birchover and then on to join a local marked path called The Limestone Way heading south passed Winster then East and South East to Bonsall. From here we head for a path above the town of Matlock Bath passing The Heights of Abraham before dropping down into Matlock.
Long walk - 14.5 mile - Dave Fothergill
As with the other walks we leave Matlock heading North West along the Derwent River on the Derwent Valley Heritage Way to Oker and then Darley Bridge. We turn West passing Cowley Knowl to the village of Birchover and then on to join a local marked path called The Limestone Way heading south passed Winster then East and South East to Bonsall. Still heading South East we pass through Cromford and cross the river near Cromford Station. The path then climbs up to Hearthstone Lane to head north passed Hearthstone Farm then Riber. The path then heads West passing Riber Castle down into Old Matlock then back to Matlock.
Further information:
Richmond
Matlock is the county town of Derbyshire, England. It is situated at the south eastern edge of the Peak District. The town is twinned with the French town Eaubonne. The former spa resort Matlock Bath lies immediately south of the town on the A6. The civil parish of Matlock Town had a population in the 2011 UK census of 9,543.[1] The population of the wider Matlock urban area is approximately 20,000 (including Darley Dale, Tansley, Hackney and Matlock Bath). The Matlock area is considered to include Wirksworth, owing to the close proximity of the towns.
Matlock is nine miles (14 km) south-west of Chesterfield, and in easy reach of the cities of Derby (19 miles), Sheffield(20 miles), and Nottingham (29 miles); the Greater Manchester conurbation is 30 miles away. Matlock is within the Derbyshire Dales district, which also includes the towns of Bakewell and Ashbourne, as well as Wirksworth.
Matlock Cable Tramway
Brought to Matlock by Job Smith the Matlock Cable Tramway, based upon those in San Francisco, opened in 1893. The popularity of the town as a Hydrotherapy Centre at that time, made the tramway very necessary as the railway station was by the river, and the Hydros were all up the Hillside.
The trams were hauled up Bank Road by a continuously moving cable under the road. Their top speed was 5 mph. A picture was taken by a local photographer W.N.Statham, whose studio was on Dale Road, then one of the most fashionable streets in the Midlands. Cables needed replacing, on average about once a year, one of the reasons which made the enterprise unviable economically, forcing closure in 1927.
The famous Tram shelter in Crown Square (this can still be found in Hall Leys Park)