Cromford and the Black Rocks

Recommended by

Our view

"From Arkwrights Mills to Jessop's Canals in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site"

Walk directions

Turn left from the car park and up to the A6 junction. Cross over the busy road, then take the first right (towards Scarthin Books shop) passing the old mill-pond, before doubling back left at a T-junction to Market Place.

Turn right up The Hill. Pass North Street, then ignore a footpath left. Take the next left up Bedehouse Lane, which bends right into a narrow tarmac walkway. Cross a road and take a footpath towards Black Rocks. At its top, turn left up a steep and winding lane. Higher up, take the right-most tarmac footpath, crossing a cattle grid and rising to the Black Rock Cottages ahead. Fork right along the top of a field. Climb a few steps to pass round the fenced-off Black Rocks Scree Slope then take a trail into the woods opposite an information sign. Head uphill to the High Peak Trail.

Turn left towards High Peak Junction. Pass Sheep Pasture engine house and go down the first part of the incline. Turn right towards Intake Lane, bend left, ignore a concessionary path to the right, and go down to a waymarked junction. Turn right towards Longway Bank, rising on the wide woodland track. At the edge of the wood fork right and pass a gate. Turn left on to a stony track, pass a large campsite, then bend right and up to a road.

Cross this and take a rising footpath through a field. Fork left below Crabtree Wood, then rise steeply through a hilltop plantation, with boardwalk across boggier parts. Keep left of some buildings (Watfield Farm), joining a stony lane at the bottom of the driveway. Fork right by woods on to a footpath which heads downhill past Watergate Farm. Cross the driveway and follow waymarkers uphill through fields to a hilly junction.

Turn left on a field-edge path, and down to pass just right of a cottage. The path steepens by a wooden fence, crosses a driveway, then descends to a road. Cross a small field then the River Derwent via the A6 bridge. Fork left by The Family Tree café on to the Crich road, then turn left on to the Cromford Canal towpath.

Follow this for about 2 miles (3.2km), including a short tunnel (there’s an alternative path over the top). When the chimney of Lea Wood pumping station comes into view, switch banks via the swingbridge.

At High Peak Junction swingbridge, turn right on to a fenced path. Take a road pavement to the right, entering Lea Bridge. Just before John Smedley’s Mill turn sharp left on to a footpath through Bow Wood. Join a tarmac lane on a hairpin bend and head downhill. Just after an overhead power line, fork right on to a footpath, rising gently across open pasture. Go through a wood then head left down a stepped path to the road. Turn right to return to Cromford Wharf.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Lanes and urban ginnels, woodland and field paths, canal towpath and a former railway trackbed, several stiles

Landscape - Town streets, wooded hillsides and grassy valleysides

Dog friendliness - Under close control at all times; keep out of the canal to protect water voles

Parking - Cromford Wharf pay car park

Toilets en route - At car park and High Peak junction

Walks in Derbyshire Dog-friendly walks in Derbyshire

About the walk

For many centuries Cromford, ‘the ford by the bend in the river’, was no more than a sleepy backwater. Everything changed in 1771 when Sir Richard Arkwright decided to build the world’s first water-powered cotton-spinning mill here. Within 20 years he had built two more, and had constructed a whole...

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Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

The natural features of this central English county range from the modest heights of the Peak District National Park, where Kinder Scout stands at 2,088 ft (636 m), to the depths of its remarkable underground caverns, floodlit to reveal exquisite Blue John stone. Walkers and cyclists will enjoy the High Peak Trail which extends from the Derwent Valley to the limestone plateau near Buxton, and for many, the spectacular scenery is what draws them to the area.