Over Haddon

Sitting at the top of a steep valley there are beautiful views south over the Lathkill Dale and river. Over Haddon is now visited by walkers as it lies on the Lathkill Dale Trail which follows the River Lathkill up the valley to beyond Monyash. For several centuries the valley was alive with the lead mining industry that was a mainstay of the economy of much of northern Derbyshire, and any walk along the riverbanks will reveal remains from those workings as well as from limestone quarries.

There is an old engine house at Mandale Mine that was built in 1847 and further upstream from the mine are the stone pillars of an aqueduct, built in 1840, which carried water down to the engine house. Downstream from the village is the first National Nature Reserve established in the Peak District in 1972. Set mainly in an ash and elm wood, the reserve is home to many varieties of shrubs.

Over Haddon enjoys several claims to fame: the Gold Rush of 1854, when iron pyrites (‘fool’s gold’) was found, and Martha Taylor, the ‘Fasting damsel’, who didn’t eat for almost two years! Maurice Oldfield, head of the MI6 from 1973 – 1978, lived in the village and is buried in the churchyard.