£1m boost for Peak cycling project

Apparently, four old railway tunnels between Matlock and Buxton rail stations might be re-opened as part of a £3.785m new cycle trail across the Peak District National Park .

The Department of Transport has just announced a £1m injection to the proposed section between Buxton and Bakewell, which includes re-opening four 400m tunnels on the Monsal Trail for cyclists, walkers and horse-riders.

The Peak District National Park Authority would manage the project and is seeking funding partners including Derbyshire County Council. The exact routes are still being finalised with the county council but the idea is the cycle way would use existing trails wherever possible, linked up by road sections.  If approved, work will start in early 2010.

It would create, for the first time, a high-quality, linked rail and cycle route from the cities of the North West (via Buxton) and the Midlands (via Matlock) into the heart of the national park.

It would also link up existing cycle trails along the former railway routes  - Monsal, High Peak and Tissington. And the national park’s main town of Bakewell and outlying villages would have designated cycling routes to access the trails.