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Middleton is an old lead-mining village and now has large limestone quarried in the neighbourhood. It stands on the road that climbs steeply from Wirksworth, then descends just as deeply to the Via Gellia, with a marvellous view as it winds down to the dale.
Deep below the cornice wall, the sea of green unfolds as we draw near into the loveliness of the dale, which is shut in by wooded cliffs. Luxuriant with all the trees that grow, with violet and primrose, forget-me-not and lily of the valley, it has nothing lovelier than the view we have of it on the road from Middleton.
Visitors to the Middleton Top Engine House will note that this was originally built to haul wagons up the one in eight and three quaters gradient of the Middleton Incline, and that the Middleton Engine worked for an exceptional 134 years before its retirement in 1963. Middletop Top is a visitor centre which tells the story of the Cromford and High Peak Railway.
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