Winnats Pass

Winnats Pass is in the High Peak area of the English county of Derbyshire. It lies to the west of the village of Castleton, in the National Trust's High Peak Estate. The road winds through a cleft, surrounded by towering limestone pinnacles. The pass was once thought to have originated as a giant collapsed cavern; however, a more recent explanation is that it was a ravine between the coral reefs that originally formed the limestone. [http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-highpeakestate/w-highpeakestate-countryside/w-east_midlands-places-winnatspass.htm National Trust: Winnats Pass] ] The name is a corruption of 'wind gates'. A local legend is that the pass is haunted after a young couple were murdered by miners.

The permanent closure of the main A625 road at Mam Tor in 1979 due to subsidence has resulted in Winnats Pass being heavily used by road traffic. However, the narrowness of the road and its 20% (1 in 5) gradient has caused it to be closed to buses, coaches and vehicles over 7.5 tonnes in weight. The road features regularly in the Tour of the Peak cycle race each autumn. It presents the riders with a severe challenge, and often determines the race outcome.

References

External links

* [http://www.rural-roads.co.uk/winnats/winnats1.shtml Article with map and photos]
* [http://www.highpeak.co.uk/hp/h_winnbd.htm Photo and some details]
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