Our drawing of the route, over road and path data from OpenStreetMap. It shows where the walk goes and what it goes through. It is not a survey and not a navigation aid — carry OS Explorer on the hill.
Two and three quarter miles and about an hour and three quarters on waymarked woodland circuits with a short scramble up onto the gritstone outcrop for a view over the whole Derwent valley. Start from the Black Rocks car park above Cromford, a county council site where charges apply at £3.50 for three hours or £7 all day, with toilets and picnic tables. The forest tracks are wide, shaded and free of livestock so a dog can be off the lead under close control, but the top of the outcrop is a genuine unfenced cliff used by climbers and no place for a loose dog, and there is no water on the route.
Ten and a half miles there and back along a dead-level towpath through the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, four to four and a half hours, and one of the few long days in Derbyshire with no climbing in it at all. Start from Cromford Wharf, a county council car park where charges apply at £3.50 for three hours or £7 all day, 8am to 8pm from April to October and 9am to 5pm in winter. The towpath is a Site of Special Scientific Interest with water voles and nesting waterfowl so keep a dog out of the reed margins, close control is enough on the path itself, and Leawood Pumphouse and High Peak Junction both break the walk up with something to look at.
Arkwright's 1771 mill, the birthplace of the factory system and the anchor of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Well-behaved dogs are welcome across the site and in both cafes, though individual shops set their own policy, and the riverside meadow beyond the mill walls is the designated spending area. Guided mill tours, woodland paths and the canal towpath all start here.
Georgian house turned small hotel in Arkwright's village, a short walk from the mills and the canal. Dogs stay in The Oaks and are welcome in every public area except the restaurant; say you are dining with a dog when you reserve and you will be put in the bar. Ideal for the High Peak Trail and the Cromford Canal towpath.
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