Walk Details
Explore two wonderful miles of the Peak District’s wheel-friendly Monsal Trail, with accessTOG ambassador Debbie North as your guide.
The Monsal Trail is a traffic-free route through the spectacular limestone scenery of the old Midland Railway line, and is ideal for walkers, cyclists, horse riders and wheelchair users. The full trail is 8.5 miles long but we’ve picked out a short stretch between Hassop and Headstone Viaduct. The disused railway station at Hassop was reopened in 2011 as a café, book and gift shop and cycle hire. It’s totally wheelchair accessible, making it a great place to start and end a walk along the Monsal Trail. The Trail is ideal for any type of wheelchair as it’s flat, wide and has a good surface for all wheels. The Monsal Trail is a popular walk for locals as well as tourists, and a great family venue offering something for everyone. Along the route there are listening stations where you can hear podcasts about the Trail. This route passes through the Headstone Tunnel, which is 487m long and lit up during the day. It’s an amazing example of Victorian engineering and a great place for testing out your echoes! At the end of the tunnel is the Headstone Viaduct, offering a viewpoint of spectacular scenery. The trail continues on towards Tideswell and Wyedale, but for our walk the viaduct marks the turning point and we return back along the 2-mile trail back to Hassop Station for the perfect cup of tea. Deb’s verdict:
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I used the DaVinci Power Wheel for this walk, a motorised wheel that attaches to the front of my manual wheelchair, making it into battery-powered wheels. This chair is perfect for this terrain and you would easily be able to do the whole 8.5-mile Monsal Trail and back again using the DaVinci, as the battery life is very good (at least 25 miles of charge available on a full battery). Next time I visit the Peak District, I will be doing the whole of the trail!
Nearest Train (or tube) Station(s):
Grindleford, Sheffield
