Situated in the World Heritage listed Derwent Valley, Arkwright's Cromford Mill is widely credited as being the founding place of the modern factory system, and Cromford, the Derbyshire village where it is located, needs no introduction as a key player in the Industrial Revolution in the UK.
But there are several other more family-friendly historic sites and attractions surrounding this World Heritage Listed valley which are worth a visit with a spare afternoon or day in central Derbyshire.
A Family-Friendly Outdoors Museum – Crich Tramway Museum
The Crich Tramway Museum should be a pleasant surprise for families whose children think museums are dull indoor places, with a working tramline which still costs 1d for a day's ticket (old pennies on loan as part of ticket purchase), an old-fashioned sweet shop, a carefully restored period village and more then 50 trams in it's collection. And all of this is found under the shadow of what may be the most inland lighthouse in the world! (Crich Stand, the WW1 monument to the Sherwood Foresters Regiment).
There is also a working old-school printing press on site - the Eagle Press. This dark and intriguing print shop houses an 1860's Columbian Hand Press which is operated by the friendly and knowledgeable on-site printer. Kids and adults will enjoy watching him roll the ink onto plates before putting in the press to produce prints, or listen to his stories of how printing used to be done.
It is very apt that the site of this working museum was once was home to George Stephenson's mineral railway. This used to transport limestone from the neighbouring quarry to limestone kilns in nearby Ambergate, and is one of a number of Derbyshire ventures that George Stephenson (who eventually settled at nearby Tapton Hall in Chesterfield), was involved in.
A Historical Walk Along Cromford Canal
In the late 18th Century it wasn't easy to transport industrial goods from their places of production to their markets, as they were often too heavy and awkward for packhorses to easily carry.
According to the Friends of the Cromford Canal, local owners of heavy industry such as the Pinxton mines, Alderwasley lead-works, Arkwright's Cromford cotton mills and the Butterley and Somercotes iron furnaces were key drivers in developing this "new" means of transport in the late 1780s.
The route of the Cromford Canal was originally 14.5 miles long, but these days only the northern 5 miles is open as a linear walk. A flash flood in 1989 put paid to plans to reintroduce passenger boat-trips along the canal, but High Peak Junction (where the canal met the railway), Lea Wood Pump House (used to provide the canals water supply after mining operations reduced the outflow from Cromford Sough) and Cromford Basin are all on the open section of canalside path.
The Cromford Canal has SSSi status, and is a good example of a highly productive freshwater habitat with a marshy grassland margin that supports a wide variety of insects, including dragonflies and some unusual varieties of hoverfly.
Bow Wood - The "Dark Wood" of Alison Uttley
Bow Wood is near the High Peak Junction car park, and was one of many local areas forming the inspiration for some of Alison Uttley's books for children such as The Little Grey Rabbit. Despite being the subject of fear by Alison Uttley, when having to walk back from school through it in winter, this woodland area is actually a pleasant place for a short stroll.
The area around Crich and Cromford has many family-friendly attractions with a historical flavour that are worth exploring on a day out in central Derbyshire.
Chiz Dakin - A keen mountain walker, scrambler, cyclist and occasional climber and sea kayaker for several years, Chiz Dakin has carried a camera with ...
