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Roystone Grange and Minninglow in the Derbyshire Peak District

Roystone Grange in the Derbyshire Peak District was once a monastic grange, the centre of a farming estate belonging to a monastery and used mainly for food production. The valley also has a long industrial past with quarries and kilns which can be explored by walking along the Roystone Grange Trail. The trail is about 4 miles long and takes a couple of hours to walk. The trail begins at Minninglow car park half a mile south of Pikehall on the A5012 Cromford to Newhaven road.



Roystone Grange Trail - a punp house, pumping water to run the drills in the quarry
Pump House
Roystone Grange Farm
Royston Grange Farm
High Peak Trail
High Peak Trail
Minninglow Hill - home to Minninglow Tomb
Minninglow Hill


The trail uses in part the High Peak Trail, which is very popular with walkers, cyclists and horse riders and passes Minnininglow Hill, the site of Minninglow Tomb, thought to date back to the Neolithic people of the area. The barrow has been well excavated and skulls found without bodies. The quarry opened after the railway came in 1830, The railway was the reason for the quarry as it was then possible to get the stone to where it was required. The stone was in great demand for building stone and by farmers. The lime kilns burned lime which was the used as fertiliser on farmers fields or as quicklime for building.

Steam trains transformed this remote hillfarming valley , bringing brickies and quarrymen in large numbers. Leisure now brings large numbers of tourists to the High Peak Trail.



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