Above: The display board near the southern end of Fernilee Reservoir. It’s good to see that the landowners, United Utilities, seem to be taking more of an interest in looking after the valley and promoting its rich cultural heritage. The packhorse bridge was...
Above: It’s wonderful to see the picturesque packhorse bridge returned to its former glory, and reopened for walkers. The historic packhorse bridge that once lay in the heart of Goyt’s Bridge has finally been repaired and the barriers removed. It took...
Above: Fernilee Gunpowder Mill expanded significantly between 1846 and the late 1890s. The trees along the C&HPR track to the right also show that it had been abandoned. The detailed 1846 plans of the valley discovered by Alan Roberts for his research into the...
Above: The proposal to improve and extend the C&HPR was submitted in 1854, just 23 years after the line had been opened. Above: Bottom right is the exit of Burbage Tunnel and top left is the canal basin in Whaley Bridge. The yellow line is the original C&HPR...
Above: The proposed 1846 route of the MBMMJ railway would have cut right through the centre of Goyt’s Bridge. Above: Two of Alan’s books on local history; The Turnpike Roads Around Buxton and The Coal Mines of Buxton (co-authored with John Leach). My thanks to...
Above: The packhorse bridge with the stepping stones just visible over the Goyt after the surrounding farm houses and barns had been demolished, probably taken in the 1940s. The bridge would be saved and rebuilt further upstream in 1965, just before this part of the...
Above: The hamlet of Goyt’s Bridge which now lies under the waters of Errwood Reservoir. I’ve circled Errwood Hall in the distance. The large barn mentioned by Crichton may be the one at far right. I’m not sure when the photo was taken...
Above: A postcard view of the Cat & Fiddle that looks like it could have been taken in the 1950s – when Crichton published his book. I’ve circled the famous cat and fiddle carving which in those days lay above the door. Today it’s incorporated...
Above: The subsidence had got increasingly worse during the last year. Part of the road and stone wall eventually collapsed down the slope. (Photo by Chris Wilman.) Page update: 1st October 2022 Local MP, Robert Largan, has reported that the Long Hill road will...
Above: The view from Windgather Rocks north towards Minninglow on the far horizon. Above: Click to play a ‘Relive’ of the walk, and use the expand button to view in full-screen. At 11 miles, this is one of the longest walks featured on the website. But the...
