River Lathkill

The dale has a history of lead mining, and among the trees on the north side of the valley are the remains of the 19th-century Mandale Mine, including an old aqueduct and the ruined pump house. There were two mines in the valley, Mandale Mine to the east and Lathkill Dale Mine to the west. Mining at Mandale was first recorded in the 13th century, and was taking place on both sides of the river by 1495. Miners had reached a depth of 300 ft by 1615, but there were problems with water entering the workings. Work began on constructing Mandale Sough in 1798, to carry water out of the mine, but progress was slow, and had ceased by 1836. Mine owners attempted to prevent the river flooding into the…

There is good access to most of the river. A public footpath runs down Lathkill Dale from where it meets the B5055 road near Monyash. From Lathkill Head Cave, it runs along the left bank to the small valley that runs up to Mill Farm. A permissive footpath continues along the left bank to Over Haddon footbridge, and then becomes a public footpath as far as Conksbury Bridge. Crossing the bridge, another footpath runs along the right bank, although it is set back from the river in places. It ends at Alport Lane Bridge, and below that, there are no footpaths along the banks, although the road from Alport to Haddon Hall, initially unclassified and later the B5056, runs quite close to the river.…