Manifold Valley & Swainsley Tunnel

Thor's Cave Ashbourne
Just outside the village of Wetton in the Staffordshire Peak District you’ll find the magnificent Thor’s Cave, a natural cavern set in a steep limestone crag, with its huge arched entrance easily visible
The Manifold valley
was famous for the mining of copper and lead, and the mines at Ecton were some of the richest in the country. The discovery of Stone Age implements in some of the caves imply that minerals were mined around the Manifold valley thousands of years ago. Nowadays there is little trace of the industry that made many people (mainly the Duke of Devonshire who at one time owned the Ecton mines) very rich. The main areas of interest are around Ecton where the old spoil banks and the old engine house still remain.
Swainsley Tunnel is a tunnel on the route of the former Leek and Manifold Light Railway, which connected the market town of Leek to Hulme End via Waterhouses in Staffordshire, England. The tunnel is located between Ecton and Butterton and was closed in 1939 along with the rest of the line from Waterhouses to Hulme End. Today, it is used as a shared bicycle, automobile and pedestrian tunnel. Due to its narrow width, there are enforced regulations on car users, and there is a weight limit of three tons. The tunnel is located in a very deep cutting running under a minor road.