Trains no longer stop at platform 2, Whatstandwell station, for the very good reason that there are no railway tracks beside it. In fact, since the line was demoted in the Beeching era, the route has been single track from Matlock to Belper, whereas before that it was the main line from Derby to Manchester. However, recently a smart new flight of steel steps has been added to the platform, which would give access to the footbridge if there was no locked gate at the top. In fact, the footbridge allows passengers to link up with the Cromford Canal or a twitchel leading to Main Road.

So why install a shiny new, and presumably very expensive footbridge on a defunct platform? The answer, apparently, is to provide access for the volunteers who tend the flower beds, above. Of course, it’s wonderful that folk contribute their time to help keeping the station spruce, but I do wonder why they couldn’t just walk over the tracks, for free? Given that there are only two trains per hour, both of which stop at Platform 1, ‘elf ‘n safety’ is hardly a threat. Or perhaps the much-discussed plan to reopen the line beyond Matlock is already being implemented?