Petrifying wells and percolating sink holes

The karst scenery is unusual in this part of the world. The river runs over carboniferous limestone for the whole of its length, and is said to be one of the last English rivers still depositing tufa. Tiny invertebrates act on calcium particles in the water, causing apparent petrification. Matlock Bath, on the nearby River Derwent, is famous for its petrifying well. The Victorian tourists were keen to transform everyday articles into strange stone shapes by leaving them in water there. When I worked for English Nature, as it was known then, the offices were based in Manor Barn, Over Haddon, a village above Lathkilldale, just over half way down the dale. Working there widened and deepened my understanding and appreciation of this amazing river valley. There was always something happening. School groups visited to learn about environmental education. Researchers from the University of Huddersfield were working to find out why the river disappeared each summer. The favourite theory was that the lead mining activities of the mid 19th century had altered the flow of the river with their clay lined soughs, attempting to take water from the lowest lead mining workings. As the clay degraded over the decades, water that should flow down the Lathkill was taking a course into the next valley, flowing into the River Wye near Ashford. Some claim that an underground explosion, a potholers’ attempt to clear an underground obstruction, changed the water table. The flow of water percolating through limestone creates what is reputedly the cleanest and clearest water possible. In the summer it disappears through sink holes, re-emerging downstream as if it had never been away. It’s surprising that it has never been bottled and sold.Nearby Ashbourne and Buxton are both home to successful brands of Derbyshire spring water.