Date: Bank Holiday Monday, 27th May
Route: Cromford Circular via the High Peak Way and the Cromford Canal
Distance: 5 miles
Our last walk in the Peak District - and after two strenuous walks in two days, we decided on an easier route for our final day, so that we still had plenty of time to get home afterwards.
We chose a 5 mile walk from the village of Cromford, only 3 miles from Matlock, from the AA's 1001 Walks, a key location from the area's industrial past. The walk begins by passing an inviting bookshop and skirting the large mill pond before climbing up past ancient almshouses (or bedeshouses, as they are known) and heading in the direction of the imposing though not very imaginatively named Black Rocks. The walk descriptions are frankly pretty confusing at this point, and bear little resemblance to the signage en route, however it is pretty easy to find the High Peak Way, which offers views down to Cromford and Arkwright's Mill, across the hillsides, including a large quarry, Riber Castle on the hillside above Matlock and the Derwent Valley.
The walk continues through bluebell-strewn woodlands, alongside a campsite, then descends though the wood, crossing the A6 and the Cromford Canal, before returning to Cromford on a flat and pleasant towpath along the canal.
Even though this was an easier walk than those of the past two days, it still includes a tough climb near the start so I would take the "easy" label with a pinch of salt. However, I would still recommend this walk, as a less strenuous option, with interesting insights into the industrial past of the area.
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