B6521

Crossing the River Derwent

The B6521 is a short road in the Derbyshire Peak District. It was originally numbered A6010 to the west of Grindleford and A6011 to the east and gained its present number in the 1970s. Following the road today it does not seem as though the road should ever have had Class I status.

The road starts in Middleton Dale on the A623 and heads north up Eyam Dale, shortly reaching Eyam itself. We pass through The Square, with the majority of the village off to the left and run through Town End. On the far side of town we find the road is closed. The next section of the road ran halfway up a cliff and in places was only S1 due to landslides. However, the road was closed completely in early 2014 and is now only accessible on foot; there is currently no plan to reopen the road although it retains Class II status for now.

About half a mile further on the road bears round to the left and opens out and becomes accessible to vehicular traffic once more. There's then a sharp left-hand bend and we start to follow the Derwent Valley upstream, with the village of Froggatt visible in the trees on the far side. The road, still not wide enough to be S2, descends gradually to reach the B6001 (former A622) at a T-junction. There's then a short multiplex to the left into Grindleford, where that road TOTSOs left and the B6521 regains its number by continuing ahead.

Continuing northeast we cross the River Derwent at a narrow bridge controlled by traffic lights before passing the bizarre St Helen's Church. We climb out of the valley and pass through Nether Padley where there is a turn to the remarkably isolated Grindleford station. We climb through a wood and go over the top of a railway tunnel, presently coming out on open moorland. A few bends take us past the National Trust's Longshaw Estate to journey's end at a T-junction on the A6187 (former A625 - another road that has suffered due to landslips). The Fox House Inn is just to the right.

History

The DfT Card Index from c2002 defines the B6521 as 'W.of Stoney Middleton - Grindleford Bridge.' which implies that only the southern section of the B6521, between Eyam Dale and Grindleford was given the number in the first instance, with the A6011 being downgraded at a later date. OS Maps from 1971, however, show both the A6010 and A6011 still in place, while the 1972 route planning map no longer shows either, nor indeed the A622 that formed the other two arms of the 'X'.