Trails - Derbyshire
Derbyshire, probably best known to cyclists for the stunning roads around the Peak district national park and tough climbs like Winnats’s Pass, Cat and Fiddle and the Riber is an area I am fairly familiar with so looking to plan a route a little different I decided to link up some of the popular trails in the area and also take in the climb of Curbar Edge and the crooked spire of Chesterfield. Due to unexpected long, busy days at work the ride was moved from Wednesday to Thursday and finally it was Friday before traffic free miles in the verdant scenery of the Peak District would provide welcome work/life balance for the week.
Derbyshire’s flag like many others is a recent design. Martin Enright’s design was chosen as the winner of a competition organised by local Radio Derby. The green symbolises Derbyshire’s lush verdant countryside, the blue its’ rivers and reservoirs. The cross indicates Derbyshire’s geography at the centre of the country. At the centre of the cross is a Tudor rose, used as an emblem of Derbyshire since the fifteenth century. The rose is coloured gold as it appears on the badge of the county’s cricket club. It symbolises quality and differentiates it from the emblems of Yorkshire and Lancashire. A Tudor rose appears in the arms of the county council.
The ride started at Derby Arena next to Pride Park the home of Derby County Football Club who coincidentally were making the headlines on the radio on the journey to the start. This was due to their proposed buyout falling at the final hurdle as the proposed owner couldn’t prove he had the cash needed leaving this famous old club looking to be in serious financial trouble, compounding their recent relegation to the third tier of English football. Derby Arena is home to the velodrome where my son Conor learnt to track race, I will never forget looking down the banks for the first time having only watched the Chris Hoy’s and Victoria Pendleton’s of this world racing on TV before, I was shocked by just how steep the boards were!
As per my previous rides in this challenge I made use of the local cycle routes and infrastructure to get through the city centre. The cycle route was directly accessible from the arena, following the River Derwent to the cathedral in the city centre. At the Cathedral I left the river and as I weaved my way through the city, passed the university and old mills it was noticeable just how busy the cycle routes were with walkers, scooterists and cyclists, proving the point that if you provide safe routes active transport is something people will embrace. I had basically traversed the city from Southeast to Northwest with barely any interaction with traffic.
Having decided to bring the cross bike to ride some of the well known trails in Derbyshire I was able to use the Komoot “Gravel Ride” option to plan my route out of Derby to Ashbourne and this picked up some great hard packed bridle paths en-route to Kedleston Hall, a National Trust property set in beautiful grounds. With a public access road open to cyclists I was more than happy to share the path with the flocks of sheep that call this spectacular setting home.
Designed by famous architect Robert Adam, Kedleston Hall was built for Sir Nathaniel Curzon in 1765 hoping the house would challenge nearby Chatsworth for grandeur. The intention was for the main house to be ‘a temple of the arts’ and as the location for grand entertainments, it was not the plan for it to be a family home, but a show palace in which to showcase the finest paintings, sculpture and furniture.
However, Kedleston Hall isn’t just a prime example of 18th century Palladian and Neoclassical inspired architecture, it is also the ancestral residence of the Curzon family. The Curzons came to Britain from Normandy at the time of William the Conqueror and we estimate that they have been at Kedleston since the 1150s.
The forecast for the day was fine with spells of sunshine and no rain, I therefore took the possibly brave, or maybe stupid decision to ride short sleeved, with no rain jacket packed leaving space in the jersey pockets for gels and flapjacks and of course for Baby Nik my little Solihull CC mascot. Turning right as I left Keddlestone Hall it looked a bit black over Bill’s mothers as us Brummie folk say, I was certainly not well prepared for a downpour.
The rain held off as I pedalled through quiet back lanes to Ashbourne notable on the way were the distinctive cottages that spanned Yeldersley Lane just outside the little village of Bradley, I suspect in the past there was good reason for what look like old workers cottages to form a gateway over the road but their function now is not obvious. As the road dipped for what seemed the first time in many miles the route brought me through Ashbourne and to the tunnel that signifies the start of the Tissington Trail. The trail is 100% traffic free and uses the footbed of the old Ashbourne to Buxton railway, offering great views of the Derbyshire Dales this easy compact gravel path is perfect for new riders to get out and explore. The 13 miles to Parsley Hay is a very gentle climb all the way with nothing technical or difficult to trouble even the most inexperienced rider. I grabbed a cappuccino and a toasted teacake at the café at the old Tissington Station just as the rain decided to make a more notable appearance, thankfully it was short-lived and the cover available prevented me from getting an unwanted soaking. It was also at this point that I realised my rear tyre was a little deflated, closer inspection revealed a deep gash and a sizeable shard of glass. Removing the glass I expected to hear a whoosh of air and to kop a splattering of pink Muc-off no-hassle tyre sealant but I was spared the gloop and with a little cluster of pink bubbles and a few strokes of the hand pump I was ready to continue on the trail.
Following the trail up to the old rural station at Parsley Hay where the High Peak Trail joins was fun easy cycling, there were plenty of other cyclists and dog walkers but the trail is wide enough to pass comfortably and it was marvellous to see three sizeable groups of young school kids with their teachers combining riding the Tissington Trail with a geography field trip – chapeau!
Leaving the hardpacked well maintained trails of Tissington and High Peak I picked up an excellent gravel climb taking me up to the highest point of the ride near Chelmorton. Slightly more technical and definitely a more challenging gradient this was proper cyclocross territory with nothing blighting the views for miles around. This section forms part of the 205 mile long Pennine Bridleway opened in 2012 by Martin Clunes. It is the longest off-road cycle route in the UK, although primarily designed for use on horseback the route is open to cyclists and walkers along its’ entirety and this short section in Derbyshire has certainly left me pondering a bikepacking trip along the full trail in the future.
The spongy feeling from the rear wheel revealed the previous slash in the tyre had not sealed 100% so out came the pump for the second time of the ride. I contemplated using one of my three CO2 cylinders to save some arm fatigue but decided these were best kept for emergency in case reseating of the tubeless tyre was necessary.
The descent through the Chee Dale nature reserve down to the Monsal Trail was a steep gnarly affair with angular rocks and loose gravel, challenging but rideable on a cross bike, it would be great on a MTB.
The Monsal trail is similar to the Tissington Trail in providing high quality hard packed gravel surfaces to ride on but the scenery is more dramatic as it cuts through spectacular limestone Dales north of Bakewell and through six dimly lit tunnels used by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway. The paths through tunnels are surfaced with silky smooth tarmac allowing you to enjoy the novelty of riding the longer tunnels with very low levels of light without fear of hitting an unseen pothole. The weather had warmed up considerably and the contrasting coolness of the tunnels was stark.
I stopped for a quick mooch at the lime kilns where I was joined by an elderly local couple out rambling who made me smile when I commented what a fantastic route the Monsal Trail was they agreed but stressed it would have been much handier for them to get to their favourite pub in Bakewell if they had kept the trains running! (The route was actually closed in 1968 and not, as many people think part of the earlier infamous Beeching reforms).
The trail was a joy to ride all the way to Bakewell despite further frustrating stops to top up the air in my rear tyre with the sealant still failing to fully seal but never being catastrophic enough to tempt me to go to the trouble of fitting the inner tube I had in my saddlebag.
In Bakewell I stopped briefly at the Lime Lounge Coffee House for a tasty sausage roll, caffeine top up and water refill. Sat outside in the strong sunshine the busy junction in Bakewell was a bold contrast to the relaxed nature of the ride this far. I would happily recommend this café to anybody visiting Bakewell thanks to the friendly staff, smart interior and quality coffee and food.
I rejoined the Monsal trail to exit Bakewell before taking country lanes through Hassop and on to the pretty stone village of Calver situated on the river Derwent. Crossing the bridge over the Derwent would bring me to the toughest climb of the day, Curbar Edge. The climb starts hard with a 1:6 gradient greeting you as soon as you turn off the A623 and with an average gradient of 10% for nearly 2km deserves respect. I had stopped before beginning the ascent to ensure I had got full pressure in my rear tyre as climbing with additional resistance from a flat rear tyre was not something I fancied. The dramatic gritstone escarpment that dominates the road above you offers a little motivation and purpose to the climb to ease the pain in the quads. Disappointingly the true top of the climb doesn’t offer fantastic views but the ice cream van in the car park at the summit does provide a fitting reward for your efforts.
Climbing Curbar Edge confirmed suspicions I had the moment I had left the coffee house in Bakewell, my legs weren’t on top form and my energy levels were flagging, despite keeping on top of my fuelling with gels and café stops I just didn’t feel strong or fresh as I rolled in to Chesterfield.
Chesterfield was added to my route for the purposes of seeing the famed crooked spire of St Mary and All Saints Church which is also the largest church in Derbyshire. The spire dominates the town centre and gives the local football team its’ nickname “The Spireites”. The Mollusc was a bonus and is high on my list of favourite sculptures out of the twenty counties ridden so far. It sits in a strange location close to a playground in a local park but pleasingly it wasn’t defaced with graffiti or spray painted tag names.
The sculpture has an interesting backstory, not so long ago this site was Markham & Co Ltd one of the foremost engineering company’s in the country.
For many years Markham’s manufactured water turbines for countries across the world. The water turbines were based on the structure of the nautilus , which has a large opening at one end and gradually spirals down thus increasing pressure etc. When Markham’s closed down it was decided to mark the company’s existence with a monument of some kind.
Artist Liz Lemon was commissioned to represent the companies history on the site. The nautilus or spiral casing was fabricated and erected. Meanwhile Markham’s had a reunion and those that attended signed in a book and their signatures where scanned by computer and cut out of stainless steel. The several hundred pieces were then sent to NLT training services where one of the trainees welded them together. The signatures were then embedded in the concrete base.
55km of the ride remained as I left Chesterfield into a strengthening headwind, this would be a tough few hours of pedalling I feared as my lethargy continued. My mood was not enhanced by the ever deflating rear tyre, I relented and gave up pumping the tyre by hand for the ease of a blast of CO2 keeping one in reserve in case of emergency.
The next off-road sections of the route were the Five pits trail and Silverhill Trail south of Chesterfield handily heading towards Derby offering further traffic and stress free gravel riding. The Five Pits trail mostly follows the route of the Great Central Railway. Since the large collieries and smaller pits along the railway closed, the landscape has changed dramatically. Parts of the land were opencast and most of the original railway line removed.
The off-road sections provided much needed variety, interest and distraction as the fatigue in my legs and dwindling energy threatened to take me to dark places I hadn’t visited since taking up this challenge but had had the “pleasure” of visiting on previous rides and physical challenges when the tank is empty and the limbs just don’t want to play any more. I was struggling to put my finger on why I felt so rough, had I attacked the gravel sections to hard and not respected the extra effort required off-road, had the warm weather drained me or was the lack of sleep and a hectic working week to blame. Regardless of the cause of my struggles I drew upon the experience of the tougher challenges I have completed to manage my efforts.
A pit stop at a service station at Swanwick 30km from the finish for a Snickers bar and a can of full fat Coke brought a moment of amusement when the cashier asked the bedraggled, sweat stained cyclist with helmet tucked under his arm whether he had bought any fuel, the woman behind me chuckled as she explained to her young son what I meant when I replied to the cashier “that is the fuel!”
Keen to make the most of the temporary benefit the sugar rush would give me I took on climb number five of seven according to my Garmin Climbpro feature and was grateful for the boost I got as I grovelled my way up a moderately steep loose gravel affair cursing the fact that there were still two more climbs to conquer. The penultimate climb was thankfully an innocuous affair and the final climb up Hazelwood Hill a moderate gradient for 2km passed without drama mainly due to the positive thoughts that once the climb was over there was only a short downhill stretch left to get back to the sanctuary of the parked van.
In keeping with my mood my return to the van was greeted with a hi-viz label stuck to the windscreen announcing a £50 parking fine. I hadn’t realised parking at the velodrome was no longer free!
All told this was an absolutely fantastic route and feeling below par was only a minor irritation to an otherwise wonderful days cycling in Derbyshire, many kilometres of which Derbyshire County council can be commended for having the vision and foresight to provide.
The ride in numbers
164.81km Distance
Elevation Gain 2033m
8hrs 25 min moving time (19.6 km/h)
2 SIS Tropical Fruit gels
2 Torq Rhubarb and Custard gels
1 Toasted Tea Cake
1 Sausage Roll
1 flapjack
3 coffee stops
1 Snickers and Coke pit stop
6 bottles of water
0 Bottles of Beer
1 never ending puncture
7 categorised climbs
Finally if you got a spare quid in your pocket my justgiving page to raise vital funds for the Midlands Air Ambulance is now live Keith Jones is fundraising for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (justgiving.com)
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