Cromford Canal

We’ve been exploring the Cromford Canal over the last few days and finding out a bit of it’s history. The canal runs from Langley Mill to Cromford and is just over 14 miles long, or at least it was. Sadly most of it now is either a dry bed or has been destroyed by allotments, gardens, roads and other modern improvements. In it's heyday it carried stone from the Derbyshire Quarries, coal from mines around Pinxton and Somercoates, iron ore from Butterley as well as cotton for Arkwright's mills, the pioneer of the factory system but that's another story.

The start at Cromford.

We’ve walked the first part from Cromford Wharf to Gregory’s tunnel many times and cycled as far as Ambergate a few years ago. It can be a very noisy walk along this stretch because it follows the main A6 trunk road along the valley but in Winter the water can look like a black mirror, reflecting everything in perfect detail along it’s path. Look into the water and see the skeleton trees 40 feet high or deep in this case and the sky beyond that, with clouds at 2000 ft., not bad for 3 ft of water! In summer it's a lovely walk with the leafy green trees providing dappled shade for you and the animals.

Sheds at the bottom of the Middleton incline, the railway that crossed the Peak to Buxton, now a walking/cycling route.

It’s an important stretch of water here supporting Dabchick (Little Grebe) and the Water Vole. The Vole is becoming very rare and you need patience to scan the water’s edge for that tell tail ripple, which then travels out in concentric circles until dissipating on the far bank. If you’re lucky you’ll be able to follow the Vole's progress along the bank.

Little Grebe(Dabchick) with Moorhen behind.

The River Derwent also runs along this valley and the canal crosses the river using Wigwell aqueduct. From the aqueduct you can look down onto Leawood pump house which has a beam engine that still works. It was used to pump water up from the river to the canal. I try to imagine the cost in both money and time, building not only the canal but Codnor and Butterley reservoirs (to keep the canal in water) and the pump house, and it seems unbelievable that the effort and cost was worthwhile for a 14 mile stretch of waterway. But, it linked to the Erewash canal which linked to the River Trent and opened up the whole world to the businesses of Derbyshire. Before the canal, all goods had to be transported by horse and cart, slow and only small loads over rough terrain. A canal barge could carry much more and use one horse to pull, a saving in time, men and animals. The share prices increased to above 10% so it was a shrewd investment.

Leawood pumphouse and Wigwell aqueduct.

Standing on the aqueduct you are at tree top height and it’s great to see the Blue Tits flitting about eating insects from the canopy of the Alders an unusual eye level view.

Alder catkins.

A second aqueduct takes the canal over the railway line which also runs along this valley. It's a very busy valley with road, rail, river and canal following the same route.

Many of the bridges have grooves in the walls from the tow ropes, it always amazes me that rope can wear away stone, I wonder how often the ropes broke, it’s not something you read about in the history books.

The canal from Ambergate to Bulbridge including a third aqueduct at Bullbridge over the River Amber, has been destroyed and now has factories built on it. It is still possible to take public footpaths around the factories and then pick up the dry canal bed through the allotments at Sawmills but we’ve not walked this part.

For the next stretch we parked at Hartshay and walked East towards the A38 and the start of Butterley tunnel. The Western portal of Butterley tunnel is actually underneath the road now, it was extended by using modern culvert methods when the A38 was widened. It’s a mess, it’s overgrown and muddy but like a lost world, forgotten by man.

Forgotten part of canal.

Along this stretch the canal is in a cutting about 20 feet deep, cut off by the A38 at one end and the A610 at the other, you can still hear the traffic but you can also hear the Long Tailed Tits and Robins calling. A little wildlife haven with real water in this stretch. It’s getting overgrown now with ferns, bramble, nettles and such like, but is still lovely and very explorable because you never know what sort of wildlife will have taken up residence.

Harts tongue Fern.

Willow catkins

On our way back to Hartshay, (it’s definitely an out and back stroll) we climbed up and over the A610, the canal has been piped under it, and stopped to have elevenses, soup and sandwich.

Tea Break

Whilst the water was boiling we watched what we thought was a Chiff Chaff flitting in the willows. We know some do stay over winter with us because we’ve heard them at Ogston Reservoir but because it didn’t sing or give any type of call we couldn’t make a positive identification.

As it was such a nice day we walked straight past the van and continued Westwards towards Sawmills and heard and caught sight of a small Goldcrest. I always associate these birds with pine forest so we had to chase it through the trees to get a good view. They are a magical sight in the courting season when the gold crest on their heads stands up and is the most brilliant yellow, once seen never forgotten. The canal still has some water in it for about half a mile and then it’s been filled in but the towpath is still marked as a public right of way along to the Sawmills section.

The Eastern portal to Butterley tunnel.

The next part, East of Butterley tunnel (the tunnel is two miles long), forms part of our local walks and fishing grounds. The Codnor Reservoir (I have not yet caught anything, not even a cold here) was built to supply the canal with water and the canal has now been diverted into the reservoir. You can still see most of the old canal bed between the road and the reservoir, especially in wet weather because it’s a swamp! A coal seam in the making, it only needs another million years or so.

Where the canal runs into Codnor Reservoir. Taken from the steel footbridge. The far distance is Kingfisher country.

The Reservoir

Coal seam in the making


We met a local naturalist on the steel footbridge and he pointed out a Water Vole feeding on greenery. He was very knowledgeable and told us where we could find Tawny Owls roosting in an old Oak tree, just look at a 45 degree angle from the telegraph post to the third tree from the left...., well you get the picture, favourite perches of the local Kingfisher and some new walks that we can try. The amazing part was after we left him we saw the Kingfisher, the first time we’ve ever seen one on this stretch of water. It kept in front of us for a short way and I managed to get a distant photograph of it (can you spot the blue?) before it finally flew back towards the reservoir. One day we hope to have our own local patch where the birds and animals are like family.

Spot the Blue


At the other end of the reservoir the canal bed has been deepened to about 20 ft, something to do with flood relief for Ironville but it’s left the Pinxton extension of the canal literally high and dry so there is now a bridge to nowhere.

Bridge to nowhere!

The next couple of miles do have varying amounts of water in it but all the locks have been destroyed and there are parts that have fully grown willow trees in it. The bike frames, prams and obligatory supermarket trolley detract from what could be a great amenity for the local people. Nevertheless it’s a pleasant walk especially on a foggy, frosty day when everything is covered in hoar frost.

The next part is filled in and relies on footpaths that eventually lead to Langley ill where a certain amount of road walking is necessary past the opencast mining that destroyed the canal bed.

The canal joined the Erewash canal at the Great Northern Basin at Langley Mill where boatyards have been built over the original route.

There were two extensions to the canal and we’ve often walked the Leawood branch near Cromford which was built by Peter Nightingale, a relative of the famous Florence, one source says Uncle to, and the other Father! It was used by Smedley’s for cotton transport and lead ore was taken to Leawood to a smelting plant which is buried under Smedley’s car park. There was a fourth aqaeduct over the main railway line from Derby to Matlock but this has been removed and replaced with a footbridge.

Photo taken from a footbridge which has replaced the aquaduct over the main railway running from Derby to Matlock.

The Pinxton branch was 2 miles long and not much of it survives but there is a very dirty, very muddy footpath you can follow to the Pinxton end where there is a short stretch with water and it ends up at The Wharf, a nice fishing spot where I have caught a beautiful Tench, just like green leather, as well as the usual small Perch and Roach. Coal was driving force behind the Pinxton branch and once opened enabled the mining companies to open new mines that had been uneconomical due to lack of suitable transport.

The walks have been pleasant, some on sunny days and some on dull miserable days but there has always been wildlife around and old locks and canal furniture to search out.

We’ve enjoyed walking the canal for many years and no doubt will continue to do so. Has anyone walked the whole 14 miles? We'd love to hear your experiences.

For more information and old photos visit the website at http://www.cromfordcanal.org.uk/history.html