MIDDLETON TOP
PLAN YOUR VISIT TO MIDDLETON TOP
INFORMATION
Location: Off the B5035 Ashbourne Road, approximately one mile from Middleton-by-Wirksworth.
Visit: Time your visit to see the world’s oldest beam engine of its type in action. Discover how it got wagons up and down steep hills on one of the world’s first long-distance railways.
Refreshments: Hot and cold drinks and snacks available at Middleton Top Visitor Centre. Pubs, cafes, and restaurants in Wirksworth and the neighbouring area.
Wirksworth may not make much of an impact on the busy traveller driving through. But visitors who have time to explore the narrow streets and maze of intriguing alleyways, admire the old buildings and lovely views, visit the ancient church and cathedral-like close, will soon find themselves falling in love with this fascinating old town that is rapidly becoming a tourist attraction. It was the centre of the English lead mining industry at its height and stands virtually at the centre of Derbyshire. Lead was the basis of Wirksworth’s past prosperity, and lead mining in the area goes back to Roman times.
MIDDLETON TOP
Situated at the top of Middleton Incline on the High Peak Trail is the restored 1829 Middleton Top Engine House. In the past, it hauled wagons up the incline, but although those days have long since gone, it can still be seen in motion on selected dates. Apart from the engine house, there is a visitor centre at Middleton Top that provides information, maps, walking leaflets, books, gifts, and refreshments. There is a car park, toilets, a cycle hire centre and a picnic site. The High Peak Trail is the longest of the trails in the Peak District and links with the Tissington Trail at Parsley Hay.
Middleton Top Engine House is the sole survivor of nine that once stood at the top of every incline along the Cromford and High Peak Railway. It is designated as an Ancient Monument, together with its Butterley beam engine, which in the past hauled the cables up the track. Originally, timber fired the boilers; now it is compressed air that does the job.
The last commercial service train to operate on the Cromford High Peak Railway ran on 21 April 1967. However, the final journeys made on the line before closure were a series of excursions, which took place north of Middleton on Sunday, 30 April. They ended what had been an enterprise of considerable engineering skill and ingenuity when work began in 1825. The line opened for business in 1830 and linked Cromford Wharf, on the Cromford Canal, to Whaley Bridge, reaching a height of 1,264 feet at one point.
Water conservation has always been an essential factor in the White Peak, where even after heavy rainfall, the rainwater quickly disappears through the porous limestone rock. Two reservoirs once stood on what is now the picnic lawn outside Middleton Top Visitor Centre, where rainwater was diverted from the roof of the locomotive shed and recycled from the engine house.
