Buxton & Ashbourne Railway fly-through

Using Google Earth satellite imagery, we follow the route of the former LNWR Buxton & Ashbourne light railway, from North to South. Completed in 1899, the line used sections of the much earlier Cromford & High Peak railway (CHPR). The path of the CHPR is shown in yellow, and it is clear in several places that the Ashbourne line introduced cuttings and embankments to ease the curves on the original line.

The line closed to passenger traffic in the 1960s, but the northern section is still in use by freight traffic serving the quarries at Durlow and Harper Hill. The rest of the route has been adapted for walkers and cyclists, as part of the High Peak trail and the entire length of the Tissington trail.