Derwent Heritage Trail - Matlock to Derby (★★★★☆)

This was the second day of walking along the Derwent Valley Heritage Trail - having had a very enjoyable day walking from Edale across to Ladybower Reservoir, from which I followed the Derwent Valley Heritage Trail down to Matlock.

On this second day, I was walking much of the remaining section of the trail - down to Derby. At Derby I plan to finish and head on home rather than complete the trail, but maybe one day I'll get inspired to complete the full route.

As it is I'm starting at Matlock, having stayed overnight - and from here I take advantage of the local shops to resupply for the day, before heading through the park in Matlock, and round to head towards High Tor.

The park at Matlock

From here the path follows the river, and then decides that you need to do a bit of climbing for the day - sending you over the top of High Tor, on its route to Matlock Bath on the other side.

Looking back towards Matlock

This section is very reminiscent for me of Edinburgh, with similar harsh rock, creating these rough hills that sit above the houses below.

On the path it is good to pay attention, because with the ground being solid rock, the paths divert off to the edge of the cliffs for some views, and the benches often sit right on the edge - so it is probably good not to just switch off and blindly follow a path without thinking about it (whee!).

A bench with a view

These are solid limestone cliffs, but don't quite have the same beauty as spots such as Malham - with the cliffs instead casting quite a rough figure on the landscape. The views aren't too amazing either as mostly you are just looking down at the road below - but it is a dramatic hillscape all the same.

Apparently in the late 19th century this was quite a popular spot - but as far as I can tell this probably was more a thing to do while visiting the waters at Matlock Bath, rather than a spot of interest in isolation. That said, I'm not able to explore the caves that were apparently one of the big draws for this spot.

But I can recreate some of that journey of old, as it is now time to head down and head towards Matlock Bath.

Heading down from High Tor

Having made my way down the hill, I come out at Matlock Bath train station, and then cross over to what (to me) appears to be the prettier of the two twin towns. 

Following the official route of the Derwent Heritage Trail, I head along the river on the far side, but quickly get bored of walking alongside the cars, and so go rogue and cross over the river to the other side.

Jubilee Bridge in Matlock Bath

The trial continues along the western side of the river, and I can't make my mind up whether I would be able to get through on the prettier eastern side - but in the end I don't want to risk the extra journey time if I have to back track. And so I cross a second footbridge, only to get lost in Derwent Garden - which I eventually manage to escape, to return to the road.

I'm not 100% enthusiastic about following the road, but it does mean I go past Masson Mills - which while a little bit unloved by now, was one of the mills built by Richard Arkwright, who had a massive impact upon this area.

Masson Mills

Sir Richard - as I should call him - is famed for his contribution to the development of the spinning frame - which uses water power to spin thread or yarn from either wool or cotton.

He was responsible for the development of factories along this stretch of the River Derwent, and is further credited with having essentially created the modern industrial factory system. 

He was not born into great wealth, but patented the spinning frame, and then similarly patented a new carding engine. But the big step forward was the construction of Cromford Mill in 1771 - the world's first successful water-powered cotton spinning mill.

By 1776 a larger mill was built at Cromford, and over time the town of Cromford was built out to house the workers needed to run these mills. As a result, this area was really the birthplace of the modern manufacturing system, and triggered a big shift in how we live our lives.

This was not necessarily always a good thing though - kids as young as seven would work in the factories, shifts lasted for 13 hours and covered 6 days in the week, employees were not allowed to leave the town during their holidays and over 60% of the employees were children at one point.

But now as I stand here, Masson Mill really isn't much more than just an old, and slightly tired factory, that you can actually go park your car in.

But continuing on, and after going a little further along this road, we can turn off to the left and head down along the river, and past Willersley Castle on the far side of the river - home of Richard Arkwright - heading towards St Mary's Church.

Here the path turns right to cross over the road, but I peel off to go take a look at Cromford Mills itself - which has been delightfully restored.

Cromford Mills

The Mills feel worth a visit, and you are free to explore the yard without paying any money since there are none of those English Heritage barricades to keep you out - and you only need pay for the tours. In many ways it is nice to just see a site that doesn't try and gauge you for funds, like most of the sites seem to - and the tour seems fairly reasonably priced too (although I've no idea how good it is).

But I cannot linger too long, and head on across the road to join the start of the Cromford Canal.

Cromford Canal

The canal was completed in 1794, and built by William Jessop and Benjamin Outram to provide transport not just for spun cotton - but also for coal, iron ore, lead and limestone. 

It ran all the way to Langley Mill, but it no longer runs quite so far, as with many canals, it was overtaken by the railways - and then fell into decline and disrepair. Finally in 1900 the Butterley Tunnel closed for good, and the canal was no longer able to join up with the broader canal network.

In 1972 the section from Cromford to Ambergate - the section that can be walked today - became owned by Derbyshire County Council, and restoration of the canal began, but the canal has had a difficult history and the whole restoration process had to be resumed in 2003 to bring life back to the canal.

Today as we head out along it's path, the canal is in great condition - and as a walk out from Cromford it is excellent - with the bonus that you can use the train to return - using either of the stations at Whatstandwell or Ambergate.

The first point of interest along the trail is High Peak Junction - which was where the Cromford and High Peak Railway met up with the Cromford Canal. This offered a rail route across to the Peak Forest Canal (on my list to visit) through the hills, joining up these two canals.

These days you can walk this route via the High Peak Trail - and although it does rather stop in the middle of nowhere, you can divert onto the Midshires Way to complete the journey to Whaley Bridge, and connect up with the Peak Forest Canal (again on my list to do) as the railway used to when operational. 

But sticking with the Cromford Canal today, the next point of interest along the canal is Leawood Pump House. 

Factories near Leawood Pump House

Leawood Pump House itself

Leawood Pump House was a later addition to the canal - and it's job was to pump water to the Cromford Canal, from the River Derwent below. It was built in 1849, it lifts water up 30 feet to join the canal above and it ran up until 1944 when the canal closed. It does still run today, but only very occasionally.

Here the canal crosses over above the River Derwent, via an aqueduct, and here you find the very pretty - and very imaginatively named - Aqueduct Cottage.

Aqueduct Cottage

From here onwards there are fewer industrial sites, but the charm and excitement is certainly not over for the day, as next up we head through Gregory Tunnel - which briefly cuts through a jut out in the hills above.

Coming out of Gregory Tunnel

It is a reasonably long tunnel, so by the middle you will find that it is too dark to see where your feet should go, but the handrail is helpful in ensuring that you don't accidentally fall in, as you go through the darkest part.

After passing Whatstandwell (where there is an exit point to the train network), the next section is a long stretch round to Ambergate - and here I take my time and enjoy some of the benches along the way.

Eventually though, it is time to leave the Cromford Canal - and that is a real shame, because it has not only been the highlight of the day - but it is also really what I came here to see. It is a memory of a new industrial world that appeared out of nowhere, and changed everything.

At Ambergate, the next section does not get off to the greatest start - heading back onto a main road, and then turning off to walk some of the quieter back roads. 

After a long climb up the hill, and then along the ridge, the path pulls off these back roads, and heads down through the fields - before once again rejoining another back road, heading into Belper.

Upon arrival, Belper feels like any modern town - with busy roads, traffic and road junctions to navigate - but there is clearly some history here, as you pass over the River Derwent.

Strutt's North Mill

Weir at Belper

Strutt's North Mill was originally built in 1786 by Jedediah Strutt (a partner of Richard Arkwright), but then rebuilt in 1804 after a fire destroyed the original building. The new building was designed to be fire-proof, with fires being common at Cotton mills in this era.

At this point I look at the route ahead on the map to work out the route through Belper, but while the walk through this town doesn't look a particularly exciting one on the map, in reality the streets are very pretty, and I enjoyed the wander through this town.

Having meandered around the town, and finally popped out on the other side - the paths heads out towards the south, along a farm track, and then winds through the fields as it passes Milford - and then drops into Makeney.

Here there is a road section to get through - and this road section is a bit dull and lasts a little bit too long, before we are finally being released into a prettier section, heading round to the village of Little Eaton.

On the way to Little Eaton

At Little Eaton there is a shop to resupply from, but it is here that the worst section of the day begins as we initially follow a man road, before heading down to cross under the A38, to pass across what must have previously been something like a landfill site (there are little air shaft with air releases, and it is completely flat). 

Here the path isn't very clear, but I figure that means you can just wander where you wish, and it is a quiet landscape, but all a bit rough and artificial for my liking. 

It does improve, however, as you come out by the Rugby club, and head over the river into Darley Abbey. Passing through the site of Darley Abbey Mills on the way - and again, these were textile mills sat alongside the River Derwent.

Darley Abbey Mills

Having crossed over the river, this was the site of a former abbey, but the main site that remains from those times is the Abbey Pub, which we are soon walking by. 

From here we head on through Darley Abbey Park, and then after navigating some diversions around closed sections of river (due to redevelopments), continue along the river to reach the train station on the far side of Derby.

The Derwent Valley Heritage Trail does continue on - and continues all the way through to Shardlow - where you can head onwards on the Trent Valley Way towards Nottingham, or on via the Midshire Way.

I did look at doing the rest of the trail, and it looks easy enough to get to Long Eaton train station after finishing the rest of the trail - but for now have no plans to return to complete that final section. I was here to see the old industrial sites passing through the Peak District and in the Cromford Canal, I go to see exactly what I came to see.

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5 (loved the Cromford section, other sections were not as good)

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 119 and 128 (you would get away without this second map as it is only needed for Derby itself) OS Landranger maps (links redirect to Amazon). The route was easy to follow from the map and pretty well way marked by the purple and yellow arrows on signs.