Winnats Pass
Winnats Pass runs through the High Peak area of the Peak District, in Derbyshire, carrying a minor road through the fells westwards from the village of Castleton. The name 'Winnats' is a corruption of 'wind gates'.
The pass is all within 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.[1]
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 maximum >28% (1 in 3.5) gradient has caused it to be closed to buses, coaches and vehicles over 7.5 tonnes in weight. The road regularly features in the Tour of the Peak cycle race each autumn.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Winnats Pass) |
- Location map: 53°20’24"N, 1°47’55"W
- Streetmap SK135826
- Article with map and photos
- Photo and some details