Tne vnlLEY wHEREHtsroRYwAs MADE

6 mileor8 milewalkthrough
A delightful someof thekeyplaces
withintheDerwentValley Site.Woodland
MillsWorldHeritage
andcanalside paths,plusa historic
railway.
parking:At CromfordWharf. TurnrightolftheA6atthecrossroads to LeaandCromford
(trafficlights),signposted
in Cromford Mill.
Thecar park just
is ontherighthandside afterthewharfbuildings.
Refreshments: Millandcromford
Arkwright's pubsin cromford.
wharf.several

When RichaftlAtkwtightcaneto Crcmford in 1771it wasa Wagons werchauledupanddowninclines oncables by

sleepybackwa@t ona bendin theRiverDewentAllthat steandtivenwinding engines. lnitially
ho$es pulled
the
wasto changewhenhedecided tobuildheretheworlds tucksalongtheflattetpaB ot theroute,buttheywere
firctwater-powered nill. Within20yearshe
cottonspinning laterreplaced bystean.lt is nowa havenof wildliteal,ng
hadbuifttwomoreandhadconstructed a wh1lenewt1wn theroutewifi anabundance of wildflowers.
aroundhen - Aonfotdhadbecome the'hone0f the C AtHighPeak youhavethechoice
Junction ol addingonan
lndustal Revolution'. extra loopto thewalkto create a longer
slightly walk. The
A From thecar park, pay
crossovertheroadand a visit to longer 0ne involves
a pleasant walk along the Cromford
Arkwright'sfirstmillatCromford.Thebuildingsarebeing Canal andpasttheformerhome ot FlorenceNightingale.
andit is nothardto imagine
restored, theharsh working
ofthemillworkers,
conditions including Then
children. walk
uptheroadtothe46 andcrossthebusyroadintothe
village
of Cromtord, forhisworkers.
builtbyArkwright Walk
upthemainroadthrough withthemarket
thevillage,
square onyourright,noting theparticularly
attractive
cottagesin NorthStreet.
TurnleftupBedehouse Lanewhichturnsinloa narrow
tarmac alleyafterrounding somealmshouses. Atthetopol
thelanebya streetof 1970shousing, 10ll0wthesignpost t0
BlackBocks to meet a lane.
Turnleftalongthe windinglane
whichsoondivides. Take therightfork,onreachinga house
withwoods behind turnrightthrough a gate,
and tollowlhe
toplieldedge.
Afterclimbing ascend
somesteps, thew00ds
leftthrough 0f HighPeakJunction
Dimons anduptotheBlack
Dale Rocks carparkandpicnic
fora goodviewoflhetown,
upto BlackRocks
site.Delour ConDlead in 1794thecanalwasbuiltt0carrylimesbne
andtheDeMent
RiberCastle Valley. quanies
fton local to fie ironfoundtyat Butterley
and
extendedto Cromford serveRichard nills.It
Arkwtight's
B Returningtothecarpark,turnrightontotheHighPeak wasinandedasthefirststageofa canalsystent0linkthe
theformerrailway
Trail, trackoftheCromford andHigh EastMidlands withManchester but(asdescribed ab,ve)a
PeakRailway,andfollowthisdownto HighPeak Junction, rcilwaywaseventually usedto cto$ thehighcentnl
whereit meetsthecanal.Thereisa smallinformation linestoneplateau.ThewateMaywasfinallyabandoned in
centre hereandtheworkshops whichdatefromtheearliest 1944.
daysoftherailway,arevirtually
unchanged sincethen.
Short route to Lea Bridge
Thetailwayopened in 1831andstretching 33nileswas
Turnrightalong thecanaltowpath andfollowit untilyou
considered to beanengineering masterpiece,linking
cometoa ruined cottage
on the Thenfollowthesignt0
left.
Cromford CanalwiththePeakForestCanal at Whaley
A nilwaywaschosen t0 LeaBridge.
Brtdge,southeastof Manchester.
Novide thislinkbecause of thetopognphy and difficulties Established in 1783,he JohnSnedleyfactoryis the'nly
in ensuringa watersupplyfora canal0nthelinestone nill sitein fl\eDewentValley wherctherchasbeen
uptand.lt wasusedto tnnspotlmineruls, corn,coaland continu1us pr\duction
textile for over200yearsFact,ry
othetconm1dities fron onecanaltoanothefacr1$the shopon site.
highplateauof thePeakDisttict.
overleaf...
continued
a

Tne velLEY wHEREHtsroRYwAs MADE

Longer route to Lea Bridge
Turnrightalong thecanaltowpath andfollowthisJorabout across a lieldto a slilebya gateinioLeaWood. Keep t0
onemile.Attheentrance to a shorttunneltakethepath thispleasant wooded path,whichbends sharply totheright
leavingthetowpath totheright.Follow thepathstraight (donotgostraight ahead here).When youmeeta trackat
thenthrough gate
a metal signed 'Holloway'/,
mile' the bottom, turn right down to the thenleftdownthe
road,
ahead,
intoa deerpark.Continue upthe grassy path,pasta 1040.
cottage onyourright. D AtLeaBridge, justbefore themillbuildings, lookfora
Thebighouseovettoyourleftis LeaHurst- thesunnel lootpath sign(near a busstop)pointing upa trackthrough
residenceof FlorenceNightingaleandherparcnE.Shewas woods (donottaketheonepointing t0'Splash Farm') and
a descendant of PeterNightingalewho boughtLea and
Hall follow this along a very pleasantpath you
until emerge onto
consequenw becaneLoft of ne Manot: a lane shortly after a house on your Follow
right. theroad
downtotheleftuntilyougetto a stileintoa fieldonthe
Afterpassing through thenextmetalgateturnimmediately
right- turnhereandcrossseveral lieldsand
sloping
leftandfollowthehedge onyourleft,crossing overthe lett
almost immediately
through a smallwood, thenturn
driveway t0 LeaHurstandontosomestone flags.Follow path Turn rightalong the
andlollowthe downtotheroad.
thewallonyourleftround to a slileinthewallahead and
roadandcross theDeMent backtothecar park.
thendownthispath,through a kissinggate,thendiagonally