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On Wednesday the 30th August 2023 we left the New Bath Hotel in Matlock Bath and walked down into Matlock Bath.
Originally built at the head of a dead-end dirt road running along the valley of the River Derwent from Matlock, the settlement developed in the 19th century as residential and a spa town which remains a tourist destination. The steep hillside restricts development with most buildings on one side of the valley and only footbridges across the river. The road was upgraded, becoming a through-way, now designated A6, avoiding the previous coaching road approach to Matlock from Cromford over very steep hills near to the Riber plateau area.
In 1698, warm springs were discovered and a bath house was built. As the waters became better known, access was improved by building the bridge into Old Matlock and in 1783, the opening of a new entrance at the south of the valley. Princess Victoria of Kent's royal visit in 1832 confirmed Matlock as a society venue of the time. Victoria's party visited a pair of museums and a petrifying well. John Ruskin and Lord Byron were visitors, Byron comparing it with alpine Switzerland, leading to a nickname of Little Switzerland. Erasmus Darwin recommended the area to Josiah Wedgwood I for its beauty and soothing waters, and members of the families vacationed and settled there. Edward Levett Darwin, son of Francis Sacheverel Darwin, lived at Dale House in Matlock Bath, where he was a solicitor.
When the North Midland Railway opened in 1840, carriages plied for hire from Ambergate station. The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway ran a number of excursions, taking the passengers onward from Ambergate by the Cromford Canal.
Matlock Bath is dubbed the Seaside resort a hundred miles from the sea. It is full of chip shops, amusement arcades and candy floss.
We cross the Jubilee Bridge over to Lovers walks, hoping we could follow this to High Tor, but they have shut off the route as it is deemed unsafe.
The Lovers' Walks are a series of footpaths along the riverside and up and over the cliffs.
Lovers' Walks is a 'Site of Special Scientific Interest' by English Nature.
These woodlands also form part of the Peak District Dales Woodlands 'Special Area for Conservation'. They contain habitat which is rare or threatened within a European context and known to be one of the best UK examples of 'Tilio-Acerion forests of slopes and ravines'.
The Lovers' Walks link to Derwent Gardens on the opposite side of the River Derwent by a river bridge built in 1969. Derwent Gardens hosts the District Council's annual Matlock Bath Illuminations spectacular every autumn.
We turn around and walk back over the Jubilee Bridge and back along the road towards the Cable Cars.
The iron bridge was placed in position on 14 June, 1887 in time for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria eight days later. It was an immensely significant event for the village as, until then, the only access to the Lovers' Walks had been by ferry.
We wander about a bit trying to find the path that will lead us up to High Tor. A severe lack of signage here.
We find it next to the entrance to the Heights of Abraham that we will visit later.
We start climbing the stairs and path that zig zag up the cliff side.
From the first cliff-top viewpoint we can see down into the Derwent Gorge, across to Masson Hill and, looking east, up to Riber Castle. Go along the path, which bears left and continues up hill.
We can see the cable cars we'll ride later.
View back down into Matlock Bath.
We walk on uphill a bit more and stop on a picnic bench for a breather, here is a chasm in the hillside fenced off. These are early mining channels dating back to Roman times.
Walking on uphill we are finally reaching the summit of High Tor.
From the first cliff-top viewpoint (there are some picnic tables at this point and railings at the cliff edge) wecan see down into the Derwent Gorge, across to Masson Hill and, looking east, up to Riber Castle. Go along the path, which bears left and continues up hill.
High Tor, at 300 feet is one of the highest inland cliffs in England.
Yet another viewpoint with amazing views down.
We miss the start of Giddy Edge as it wasn't obvious and no signs mark the way, neither is it marked on the OS map. We head off downhill, thinking maybe Giddy Edge starts a little downhill.
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| Riber Castle |
Riber Castle is a 19th-century Grade II listed country house in the hamlet of Riber on a hill overlooking Matlock, Derbyshire. It is built of gritstone from a local quarry which was pulled up the 200-metre (660 ft) hill by a series of pulleys.
We walk so far and the path continues downward towards Matlock. I decide it definitely can't be this far down and we turn around and head back uphill.
Riber Castle is locally as "Smedley's Folly" because of the difficulty of getting water to the hill summit, it was built by the industrialist John Smedley in 1862 as his private home. His wife lived in it until her death in 1892. After the death of Smedley's wife, the castle became a boys' prep school until this became financially unsustainable in the 1930s. The architectural historian John Summerson attended the school in the early 20th century. While he enjoyed his time at the school, the building's architecture had lesser appeal; he described the castle as "an object of indecipherable bastardy – a true monster". With the coming of World War II the Ministry of Defence used the site for food storage. The MoD left following the war and the castle remained unused until the 1960s.
From the 1960s to September 2000 it was home to a wildlife park, containing British and European fauna. Riber Castle Wildlife Park, or Riber Zoo as it was known, was eventually sold by the owner. The original owners sold the wildlife Park as a going concern. The subsequent owners were criticised heavily for the treatment of the animals kept there, and the closure was not without controversy. The original owners bred lynx which were later released in a European mountain range.
Plans to turn the shell into apartments received planning consent on 15 March 2006. The castle walls have now been secured, chimneys and floors rebuilt, 119 windows replaced and a roof added.
We make our way back to the top of High Tor again and I find the path that leads to Giddy Edge.
Giddy Edge itself is a very narrow path just below the top of a limestone cliff, and three hundred feet above the town of Matlock Bath. I’d been waiting for ages to go out and give this a go.
We arrive at the point where ‘Giddy Edge’ starts, the addition of a handrail makes it a fair bit less scary. The cliff is made out of limestone. The part where you turn the corner is probably the most scariest and then there’s a nice bench to sit on to take in the pretty awesome view off the cliff which pretty much destroys the impact of the exposure.
We make our way back down the same path we came up and down to the entrance to the Heights of Abraham.
I had booked up on the top of High Tor as its cheaper to prebook then to pay on the door.
We queue and we are soon on the cable car, Mel isn't a fan and had her eyes closed the whole way. Mel says to me "Chris stop moving, the car is rocking" Another lady in the car says " Yeah Chris stop moving" clearly she isn't enjoying it either ha ha
But I had to move a little to take in the great views and get some photos!
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| View down as we cross the River Derwent. |
The cable cars were first installed in 1984 and modernised in 2004. The journey takes you over 554ft upwards to the summit, 100ft above sea level.
Famous for its cable cars, which take visitors on an exciting flight through the scenic Derwent Valley, passing over river, road and rail before reaching the summit of Masson Hill. Once at the summit the 235-year story of the Heights springs to life.
We arrive at the summit. Mel is glad to be off and is a little bit wobbly from the fear.
We walk up and sit by he bottom of their waterfall, not very impressive but we sit and have a drink while Mel has a cigarette. The pond is full of Sticklebacks and Roach.
We look around The Long View Exhibition,tells the tale of tourism in Matlock Bath, including famous faces and how the Heights began. Upstairs in the film theatre, find out how the cable cars were built in 1984, with daring engineering and white knuckle moments!
We leave and queue for a tour of Great Masson Cavern. While we wait there are bird feeders full of visiting birds to watch. (Blue tits, Great tits, Coal Tits, Dunnock and Chaffinches).
We are lead down into the Cavern by or guide.
Great Masson Cavern is notable for its lack of stalactites and stalagmites, as the cave is coated in a clay-like substance that inhibits deposition. However, it still has some rock formations such as "the Owl" and "the Rabbit". It was first opened to visitor viewing in Victorian times and had been mined for fluorspar prior to the opening to visitors.
Mined for Lead ore and Fluorspar. It is thought that lead mining in this area began in Roman times and reached its peak in the 1700s. As deposits began to dwindle, and cheaper lead was imported in the 1800s, the miners found a far more lucrative use for the caves as tourist attractions; in the process of excavation a large network of caverns and passageways were created which wealthy visitors would now pay to see.
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| Fluorspar |
Fluorspar is used directly or indirectly to manufacture products such as aluminium, gasoline, insulating foams, refrigerants, steel, and uranium fuel.
After about 45 minutes we are lead out up more steps and out onto the hillside.
We have views back across to Riber Castle,High Tor and Giddy Edge.
We walk up to Tinkers Shaft, we were below this a short while ago.
The Shaft was named after Mr.Tinker, who first sunk it back in the 1600s.
There were no health and safety regulations in place back in the 1600s, so Tinker’s Shaft used to be supported by just a few wobbly stones and a couple of pieces of dampened wood.
We walk back downhill and pass the Punch and Judy show and playground until we reach the Victoria Prospect Tower.
The Victoria Prospect Tower was built in 1844 to celebrate the reign of Queen Victoria. From the top of the tower, and from the adjacent amphitheatre, there are panoramic views of the valley of the River Derwent, the spa town of Matlock Bath and the nearby Riber Castle and Willersley Castle.
Mel didn't fancy the climb up the narrow spiral staircase so I went up alone to take in the views.
Back down we walk further downhill pass Woodland Corner which is little more than a seating area and a few trees. We stop by a view down to the cable car route.
Down further we reach the second of cavern tours and are lucky enough a group were going in so we jumped on the back of this.
This is the Great Rutland Cavern, a small cave consisting of a narrow passage and a chamber leading into the Nestus Grotto. Occasionally sunlight can be seen through holes in the rock, creating a pattern called 'the devil's face'. At the close of the tour is an audio visual display explaining the grim reality of mining in the 1800s.
It was first opened to the public in 1812 and was then known as Nestor Mine. It was then, and previously, mined for lead and various other minerals.
The guide tells us about lead mining and the early deaths that the miners and lead washers faced. However it was said a cure was available in the form of BEER!
We left the cavern and head into the Tavern next door.
I opt for a 'Tinkers Tipple' by Peak Ales, in case of lead exposure of course!
We walk back up a steep flight of stairs through a woodland and back to the Cable Cars for our return journey.
We get the car back down.
Back down we walk back through Matlock Bath, we stop for some chips and ice cream before returning to the hotel.
