Monsal Dale is a valley in Derbyshire, England, in the White Peak limestone area of the Peak District National Park. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (1) and part of a Europe-wide network called Natura 2000.
The Headstone Viaduct was built by the Midland Railway over the River Wye. The bridge, which stands near the 533yd Headstone Tunnel, is 300feet long. It had five 50feet span arches, some 70feet high at the centre.[1] [2] Initially, some slippage occurred, and remedial work was carried out in 1907–08.[3]
Whilst considered elegant today, with Grade II listed status being assigned to it in 1970, when it was built in 1863 it was seen as destroying the beauty of the dale. John Ruskin, considered to be Britain's leading cultural critic, harshly criticised the building of the railway:
A proposal that never came to fruition was for another viaduct for the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway to cross both the valley and the Midland Line, some three hundred feet high.[4]
The viaduct is now part of the Monsal Trail. Headstone Tunnel, at the southern end of the viaduct, was re-opened to the public in May 2011, along with nearby Cressbrook and Litton Tunnels.
From Monsal Dale, the line proceeded through Cressbrook (471 yards) and Litton (515 yards) tunnels to Millers Dale on its way north. Cut through solid limestone, they were both complex tunnels, on a gradient of 1 in 100, and curved to allow the line to conform to the terrain.