Middleton Top Engine House – High Peak Trail loop from Wirksworth

Bike touring routes & trails

Middleton Top Engine House – High Peak Trail loop from Wirksworth

Moderate

3.5

(4)

riders

Middleton Top Engine House – High Peak Trail loop from Wirksworth

01:10

13.8km

180m

Cycling

Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: September 25, 2026

Tips

Includes a segment in which cycling is not permitted

After 4.85 km for 271 m

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

216 m

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 Pasture descent to the Cromford Canal.
Refreshments and toilets on site.

Tip by

1.62 km

High Peak Trail

Highlight • Cycleway

Great route for traffic-free cycling, the High Peak trail is a gravel track which follows the course of an old railway. This railway was owned by a canal company, so was built in an odd manner with long flat portions joined by steep sections (like canal locks) where the trains were often hauled uphill by stationary engines.

This means that most of the route is nice and flat but with inclines that will often mean pushing uphill. These include Cromford High Peak junction westwards (1:9 for about a mile), Middleton Top (1:8 with a surface including drainage channels across the track, so beware when descending especially as there are very steep drop-offs to the side), and Hopton (1:14 for about 500 yards or 457 metres).

You can get a good speed up downhill but be careful as surface is very loose.

Tip by

1.96 km

Woodland Lane

Highlight (Segment) • Forest

Nice quiet lane in a woodland, steady gradient.

Tip by

7.14 km

Bird Hide at Carsington Water

Highlight • Structure

Bird hide alongside the walking and cycling routes around Carsington Reservoir.
Open to all. Inside there are seats, information on the birds you might see and some remote cameras you can operate to see birds further away. There are a couple of feeding stations right next to the windows so a good chance of seeing small feeding birds.
Quietness needed in the bird hide!

Tip by

7.62 km

View across Carsington Water

Highlight • Viewpoint

Next view across conservation area down reservoir. Lots of bird life to look out for

Tip by

13.8 km

Middleton Top Engine House and railway wagon

Highlight • Historical Site

Notorious for its steep gradient, Middleton Top is a super climb with majestic views at the top. Plus, there's bike hire and a small cafe here. It has also been part of the Eroica Britannia route for the past few years – imagine that gradient with barely functioning, pre-1979 gearing. At the top of the incline there's the Middleton Top Engine House, as the track used to be the High Peak steam railway.

Tip by