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High Peak Trail – Middleton Top Engine House loop from Matlock

High Peak Trail – Middleton Top Engine House loop from Matlock

Hard

riders

High Peak Trail – Middleton Top Engine House loop from Matlock

02:47

45.3km

640m

Gravel riding

Hard gravel ride. Very good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: June 26, 2026

Tips

Includes a segment in which cycling is not permitted

After 44.4 km for 101 m

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

17.1 km

Blakemoor Plantation

Forest

18.8 km

Tissington Trail Summit

Highlight • Trail

Wow - 25km of GRVL heading South on a false flat descent on perfect princess GRVL - bliss.

Tip by

19.6 km

View of the Peak District Rolling Hills

Highlight • Viewpoint

awesome views windy

Tip by

21.3 km

Hartington Signal Box

Highlight • Structure

Restored signal box on the Tissington Trail. Car park for the trail, near to Hartington village.

Tip by

24.6 km

Gravel Track Between High Peak Trail and Tissington Trail

Highlight (Segment) • Trail

Good gravel double track linking the High Peak and Tissington trails, probably rideable with most types of bike but more suited to Mountain bikes or CX/gravel bikes.

Tip by

34.2 km

View of Harboro Rocks

Highlight • Viewpoint

Part of the High Peak Trail that takes you past the Harbour Rocks, picturesque for sure.

The rocks are a dramatic outcrop of Dolomitic limestone.

Tip by

36.2 km

Great route for traffic-free cycling, the High Peak trail is a gravel track which follows the course of an old railway. This railway was owned by a canal company, so was built in an odd manner with long flat portions joined by steep sections (like canal locks) where the trains were often hauled uphill by stationary engines.

This means that most of the route is nice and flat but with inclines that will often mean pushing uphill. These include Cromford High Peak junction westwards (1:9 for about a mile), Middleton Top (1:8 with a surface including drainage channels across the track, so beware when descending especially as there are very steep drop-offs to the side), and Hopton (1:14 for about 500 yards or 457 metres).

You can get a good speed up downhill but be careful as surface is very loose.

Tip by

37.5 km

Middleton Top Engine House and railway wagon

Highlight • Historical Site

Notorious for its steep gradient, Middleton Top is a super climb with majestic views at the top. Plus, there's bike hire and a small cafe here. It has also been part of the Eroica Britannia route for the past few years – imagine that gradient with barely functioning, pre-1979 gearing. At the top of the incline there's the Middleton Top Engine House, as the track used to be the High Peak steam railway.

Tip by

37.6 km

Middleton Top Engine House

Highlight • Historical Site

Very interesting piece of railway history containing the world's oldest working
steam lift. Take the time to go a little further to theSteeple Grange Light Railway or brave the Sheep Pasture descent to the Cromford Canal.
Refreshments and toilets on site.

Tip by

38.3 km

Ruins

44.4 km

Knowleston Gardens

Forest

45.3 km

End point

Train Station

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

20.1 km

15.2 km

6.41 km

1.61 km

1.05 km

851 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

16.1 km

12.1 km

9.62 km

6.83 km

635 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (370 m)

Lowest point (80 m)

Weather

Monday 13 July

24°C

11°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 22.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

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High Peak Trail – Middleton Top Engine House loop from Matlock

Tissington Trail Summit

View of the Peak District Rolling Hills

Hartington Signal Box

Gravel Track Between High Peak Trail and Tissington Trail

View of Harboro Rocks

High Peak Trail

Middleton Top Engine House and railway wagon

Middleton Top Engine House

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