High peak trail set to reopen for bank holiday fun

Fans of the great outdoors will soon be able to explore a popular route for walking, riding and cycling once more now that Derbyshire County Council has confirmed plans to install a temporary bridge on the High Peak Trail.

A section of the trail was forced to close on 17 April after an HGV ran into a bridge which carried the trail over the B5056 near Brassington, causing extensive damage.

Now a steel bridge will be lifted into place on Sunday 19 May as a temporary measure so the route can be re-opened while plans to re-build a permanent bridge are drawn-up. 

The High Peak Trail stretches 17.5 miles from High Peak Junction near Cromford to Dowlow near Buxton.

Councillor Simon Spencer, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said:

“The High Peak Trail is popular with tourists and locals alike so I’m pleased that we’re able to get a temporary bridge in place to allow the route to reopen as soon as possible.

“Walkers, cyclists and horse riders will all be able to use the bridge and we’re pulling out all the stops to get the necessary fixings and engineering works in place in time for the Bank Holiday when we would normally expect lots of visitors flocking to use the trail.”

The B5056 will be closed either side of the bridge from 7am on Sunday.

Diversions will be in place between the A515 near Fenny Bentley and A5012 Via Gellia at Grangemill to allow a 150 tonne crane to lift the bridge into place. The road is expected to reopen by 6pm.

Further work to secure the bridge, which will be 3.5 metres wide, will be needed once it has been lifted into place as well as work to build access ramps at each side.

Engineers are aiming to complete the work by Saturday 25 May or sooner if possible.

Hopton Tunnel, which is also currently closed for roof repairs, will also re-open in time for the Bank Holiday weekend.