Middleton Top Engine House – Golconda Lead Mine Ruins loop from Wirksworth

Hiking trails & Routes

Middleton Top Engine House – Golconda Lead Mine Ruins loop from Wirksworth

Moderate

4.1

(10)

hikers

Middleton Top Engine House – Golconda Lead Mine Ruins loop from Wirksworth

04:25

15.6km

340m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: October 15, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

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433 m

National Stone Centre

Highlight • Climb

Old limestone quarries that have been opened to explain how the area used to be the shoreline. Interesting details to read and lots of old, overgrown quarries to explore. Some …

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672 m

Middleton Incline

Highlight (Segment) • Structure

Middleton Incline is a former railway incline in Middleton, Derbyshire once part of the Cromford and High Peak Railway. The incline was one of six gradients along the entire line …

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1.61 km

Middleton Top Engine House

Highlight • Historical Site

Very interesting piece of railway history containing the world's oldest working
steam lift. Take the time to go a little further to theSteeple Grange Light Railway or brave the Sheep …

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1.71 km

Middleton Top Engine House and Visitor Centre

Highlight • Parking

The Cromford and High Peak Railway was one of the world's first, transporting minerals and goods from the Cromford Canal to the Peak Forest Canal.

The terrain and gradients it …

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7.82 km

Brassington Village

Highlight • Historical Site

Brassington has many cottages that date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, with Tudor House, built in 1615, being one of the oldest.
Brassington was for centuries dependent on …

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10.5 km

Golconda Lead Mine Ruins

Highlight • Historical Site

The mine dates back to the 1700s and the mine shaft is over 100 metres (330 ft) deep.
After closing in 1913, the mine was reopened in 1915 to mine baryte until 1953.

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11.8 km

Railway Holiday Cottage and Hopton Top

Highlight • Settlement

The Hopton Incline was the steepest stretch of conventional, adhesion-worked standard gauge railway in the UK. The incline was situated in sparsely populated, exposed limestone uplands in the Peak District.

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13.1 km

Hopton Tunnel

Highlight (Segment) • Trail

Hopton Tunnel is a former railway tunnel in Hopton, Derbyshire. Located on the former Cromford and High Peak Railway. The tunnel was closed along with the line in 1967 and is now in use for the High Peak Trail.

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