Labour of love that turned a rundown estate in the Derbyshire Dales into a major tourist attraction

Fifty years ago Andrew and his wife Vanessa embarked on an epic mission to restore the Heights, a 60-acre hilltop estate above Matlock Bath, and set the wheels in motion for an amazing success story.

The couple introduced the UK’s first cable car system in 1982, a move which since paid dividends by drawing thousands of visitors. Andrew, who is chairman of the Heights of Abraham, said: “The Heights would have perished without the cable cars and not had any future.

“When we first came here they was very limited tourist accommodation. Now the Derbyshire Dales offers fabulous, quality accommodation and people stay in the area. It is big business and employs a lot of people.”

Working with their son Rupert, who is development director, the Pughs have helped to boost employment opportunities alongside building a great experience for visitors. From a staff of just six half a century ago, there are now 82 people on the Heights’ payroll.

Andrew said: “The strength of the Heights is the people who work here and they provide from their enthusiasm a great experience for their visitors. They are all wanting to introduce new ideas and new experiences.

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"We’re making a major investment in the Great Masson Cavern which will include a whole new way of lighting the cavern and also presenting its history. That will be ready in March – I’m very much looking forward to it.”

The Great Masson Cavern is the jewel in the crown. When the Pughs bought the Heights in 1974, the estate came with just part of the cavern which they would open to the public on bank holidays and daily in August, giving visitors hurricane lamps to light their way. Andrew said: “The most spectacular part of the cavern had been sold off. We bought that part back in the late Eighties and opened up the whole Great Masson Cavern and the tour which was originally available to the Victorians.”

Records show that in 1780 the Heights opened “to attract the quality who came to take the waters in Matlock,” said Andrew, quoting the guidebook of the day. “This is a comment about the people who could afford to come here,” he said. “They couldn’t go on their grand European tours because of the wars in Europe so they came on their adventures to places like Matlock and the Heights of Abraham.” Back then, the well-heeled visitors would travel up to the Heights on donkeys.

Andrew said: "The wars in Europe ended and the market disappeared. Fortunately, the next milestone for the Heights was the arrival of the railway. The Matlock Bath station was critical to the Heights because that was the main London to Manchester line. Then the railway ceased to happen – that must have been another challenging time for the Heights.”

The competitive leisure market of the late 1970s saw dwindling numbers of people visiting the Heights, with some deterred by the steep climb up to the estate. Vanessa said: “The access was holding it back, not everyone wants to park in the village and start the long hike up. That’s what made us think we needed to improve the access.” The cable car system was introduced and the Treetops visitor centre built at the summit of the Heights.

Nowadays the cable car system is the only way that visitors can access the Heights. Vanessa said: “Once they are here, there is a lot of walking they can do. It’s a beautiful place – I really think it’s got one of the best views in England but maybe I’m a little prejudiced.” Andrew added: “When you exit the Masson cavern, you’re on top of Masson Hill and you can see almost the whole of Derbyshire. There are great opportunities to walk on the wild side before you come back to civilisation on the Heights itself.

“We are continually updating the cable car with new equipment and the latest technology," he said. “Running a cable car is a very demanding discipline and we have a team of six resident engineers.”

The founders of this booming business are predicting a bright future for the Heights. Andrew said: “I’m very confident that the Heights will continue to compete in the international market for tourism.” Vanessa said: “We’ve been able to achieve our dream of working together and seeing how the Heights has developed and grown.”