Tissington is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tissington and Lea Hall, in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. In 2001 the parish had a population of 158. The population "Tissington and Lea Hall" at the 2011 census was 159

A perfect picture book village with beautiful cottages built around a noble old hall, fine church and duck pond. Whichever way you enter Tissington you get a pleasant surprise for this village is as near to a rural idyll as you can get. From the main gates on the A515 Ashbourne to Buxton Road an elegant avenue of lime trees leads to the first of the pretty cottages alongside the broad wayside lawns. The lane from Bradbourne sets off through a ford and winds along, up and down, before slipping into the village by the pond.

The village has been the home of the FitzHerbert family for over 400 years and it is their splendid Jacobean residence at the Hall that forms the centrepiece of the beautiful picture that is Tissington. The church of St Mary is raised up above the village and has a splendid Norman tower and has many fine memorials to the FitzHerbert family.

Things to do; Tissington Hall is open to visitors at certain times and there are tearooms, gift shops and craft shops. The tradition of Well Dressing is said to have originated here and on Ascension Day five wells are decorated in a floral tribute to God for the gift of water.

The Tissington Trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders passes by the village, where there is parking and a picnic site. The route follows the old Buxton to Ashbourne railway line passing through some spectacular scenery. The Limestone Way footpath goes through Tissington and there are good routes all around for ramblers. There is no pub in the village, but The Bluebell Inn is on the A52 near Tissington Gates.

History of the route

Built by theLNWR, the line opened in 1899, and linked with theCromford and High Peak Railwayat Parsley Hay, a line completed nearly 70 years earlier to link theCromford Canalwharf at High Peak Junction with thePeak Forest CanalatWhaley Bridge. It was the last of the railways to be built in the Peak District. Whilst the section from Parsley Hay to Ashbourne was single track (from Parsley Hay north to Buxton it was double) the formation was constructed to allow for doubling if necessary, but this never happened. There were passing loops at Hartington, Alsop-en-le-Dale, Tissington and Thorpe Cloud.

Despite the relatively short length of this branch line, it was deservedly popular with walkers and ramblers, enjoying its heyday in the 1930s. Apart from the elevated views over the Peak itself, a large attraction was that this line passed close toDovedale. The line for a time also carried a through-service (i.e. without changing carriages) for passengers from London Euston (viaNuneaton,Uttoxeterand Ashbourne) to Buxton and Manchester. A daily train also transported local milk to London. However, the line suffered from passing through a sparsely populated area, and it was closed to regular passenger traffic in 1954, and all services between Ashbourne and Hartington, including excursion traffic and specials (such as run during bad weather, orwell dressingspecials), ceased in October 1963. The route between Hartington and Parsley Hay survived until October 1967.

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) between Buxton and Ashbourne first opened in 1899. Following the closure of the line around seventy years later, the Peak District National Park bought the route in 1971 and turned it into a traffic free trail for walkers and cyclists.

The Tissington Trail runs for 13 miles from Parsley Hay (53.1706°N 1.7828°W) in the north to Ashbourne(53.0196°N 1.7397°W)in the south.

TheTissington Trailis abridleway, footpath and cyclewayinDerbyshire, England, along part of the trackbed of theformer railway line connecting Ashbourne to Buxton. It takes its name from the village ofTissington, which it skirts. Opened in 1971, and now a part of theNational Cycle Network, it stretches for 13 miles (21km) fromParsley Hay(53.1706°N 1.7828°W)in the north toAshbourne(53.0196°N 1.7397°W)in the south.

The Tissington Trail, just south of Parsley HayThe restored Hartington signal box beside the trail; it is now an information centre.The trail at the site of the former Tissington station, now a picnic site

Route details

AtParsley Hay, a small settlement to the north-east ofHartington, it is joined by theHigh Peak Trail, another rail trail which is 17 miles (27km) in length fromHigh Peak Junction, nearCromfordinMatlock, to Dowlow, nearBuxton.

The trail has a firm crushed-limestone surface, which is suitable for cyclists, walkers and wheelchair users. It has easy level access at many points along its route. The elevated nature of the line (at Parsley Hay, it is over 1,000 feet (305m) above sea level) means that it affords good views, but it is exposed in poor weather. The trail runs gently downhill from Parsley Hay southwards but, about1⁄4mile (400m) north of the cycle hire centre at Mapleton Lane in Ashbourne, the trail dips down and up where a viaduct has been removed; both slopes are about 130 feet (40m) long withgradientsof 1:9.

Hartington signal box, beside the trail although some distance from the village, has been converted to an information centre, which is open in summer on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. The National Park Authority operates cycle hire at both ends of the trail.

From Hartington station northwards, the route is part of thePennine Bridleway, a 130-mile (209km) leisure route which includes 73 miles (117km) through Derbyshire to the South Pennines. The bridleway has two southern starting points, with another atMiddleton Top, near Cromford, on the High Peak Trail.

Tissington Hall is an early 17th-century Jacobean mansion house in Tissington, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire. It is a Grade II* listed building

Tissington railway station is a disused British railway station near Tissington, a village in Derbyshire near Ashbourne. It opened on 4 August 1899 and closed on 7 October 1963.