The Cromford Canal

The Cromford Canal/Erewash canal, begun in 1777, was intended to primarily transport coal. It flowed from Cromford for fourteen miles to the River Trent in Sawley and on to Langley Mill.

Though it has been closed for many years, the canal is still in evidence and is now being revived by the Friends of the Cromford Canal.

In 1788, Richard Arkwright asked William Jessop to estimate the cost of building a canal connecting the mills at Cromford to Langley Mill. The figure Jessop came up with was £42,000  which was raised within a couple of weeks.

Local mill owners Jedediah Strutt and Thomas Evans opposed the proposed canal, fearing it would interfere with the water supply for their own mills, but in 1789 Parliament granted permission to construct the canal.

When the Cromford Canal was opened in 1794, it had cost nearly twice Jessop's original estimate. Between Langley Mill and Cromford Wharf, where the canal terminated in the mill complex, the canal crossed two aqueducts, traversed 3,000 yd  of tunnel beneath some ironworks at Bull Bridge, and fourteen locks.

Three quarters of the cargo transported on the canal was coal and coke, while the rest consisted of gritstone, iron ore, and lead.

When the Derby and Nottingham Canals were completed by Jessop and Benjamin Outram in 1796, they provided direct routes to the important textile centres of Derby and Nottingham.

In January 1845, the Cromford Canal Company decided to have a permanent pump built to provide enough water during dry conditions. This was made by Graham and Company at the Milton Iron Works, Elsecar.

The canal was successful until the mid 19th century when the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway extended its line south of the canal. In 1852, the canal was sold to the railway company which accelerated its decline.

By 1889 the canal was mostly used for local traffic. It was eventually closed in 1944 as the cost of maintaining and repairing the canal were too great. Derbyshire County Council acquired the canal in 1974 and the Cromford Canal Society undertook the task of restoring it.

Much of the old towpath is still a very pleasant walk, and the Friends of the Cromford Canal organise a walk along the canal route every autumn.

You can take a short stroll from the canal terminus at Cromford along the restored waterway, passing such fascinating buildings as the High Peak Railway workshop - the oldest in the world - and the Lea Wood Pump-House.

Perhaps the most rewarding walk of all is the High Peak Trail, following the old tramway (the Cromford & High Peak Railway) along its route from the Cromford Canal to the Peak Forest Canal.

But you can also walk lesser-known sections of the line, such as the flight of locks at Ironville, or even to the well-hidden portals of Butterley Tunnel.

Astonishingly rich in history throughout its length, the Cromford Canal is being reborn as a waterway into the heart of the Peak District.

There are still many fascinating examples of industrial archaeology to be seen - including the Butterley Tunnel, one of the longest on the system.

Several sections of the Cromford Canal remain in water, notably the final section from Ambergate to Cromford. Improvement works have been carried out, including renovation of the historic Lea Wood Pumphouse.

Railway enthusiasts will find the Cromford a particularly rewarding canal. The Midland Railway Centre's preserved line runs by the canal at Butterley, while the Matlock branch line follows the canal near Ambergate and Cromford itself - so it's easy to discover the canal by train.

Then there's the old Cromford & High Peak Railway, a pioneering tramway across the hills that once connected the Cromford and Peak Forest canals. Though long closed, it has been reinvented as the High Peak Trail and is now popular with walkers and cyclists alike. Its canalside buildings in Cromford are the oldest railway workshops in the world.

The Golden Valley Country Park adjoins a section of the canal. Herons are often seen, and hedgerows have been left in place, providing an ideal environment for Holly Blue butterflies.