Monsal Dale to Tideswell - Monsal Dale - From its source on the gritstone moorlands west of Buxton, the River Wye cuts a southerly course through limestone country to Rowsley where it meets the River Derwent. It is not many miles long but it passes through a few dales. Monsal Dale is that part of the Wye valley between Water cum Jolly dale and the foot of Taddington dale. Here the valley is horse shoe shaped and sitting at the crest is Monsal Head, which provides one of the finest viewpoints in Derbyshire of the dale - ?TopFoto / Woodmansterne