As cycle routes go, they don’t come much more scenic than this. My son and I are peddling along the impressive limestone gorge formed by the River Wye, which circumnavigates 300ft Chee Tor. Our track is the old Midland Railway, which stopped functioning in 1968, leaving a flat route with views of the surrounding countryside as well as from the magnificent Monsal Viaduct.
Along the Monsal Trail’s eight and a half miles are a series of well-lit tunnels, some about a quarter of a mile long, where temperatures seemingly dip to within a degree of a dementor’s breath.
The end of the line is Bakewell, and where better to stop for a little sustenance than The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop. Yes, Bakewell Pudding, not tart, which, as our waitress tells us with a smile, is “something invented by Mr Kipling”.
The pastry, jam and almond pudding was created by accident in 1860 at a local inn, when
