Walk · Derbyshire

Cromford Canal to Ambergate

Cromford · DE4 3RQ
Lea Bridge Alderwasley Crich Carr Whatstandwell Crich Crich Stand 287m Cromford Canal Cromford Canal River Derwent N 1 MILE © OpenStreetMap contributors
10.4MILES
4h 20mON FOOT
70mCLIMB
Out & backSHAPE
The route A-road B-road Lane Track Path Water Woodland
Off-road 100% 0% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 6%Lane & track 94%

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. Off-lead information here is what walkers reported or what signage allows — never our advice. Whether and when a dog is off the lead is the owner’s decision and legal responsibility; keep dogs under control near livestock and follow signs on the day.

Starts at
Cromford Wharf car park, at the head of the canal by Cromford Mill DE4 3RQ
Parking
County council pay car park at Cromford Wharf, £3.50 for three hours and £7 all day; High Peak Junction a mile along is the same price and quieter
Directions to the start →

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.

House rules, decoded

Off-lead allowed
REGION · DERBYSHIRE
GRID · 53.1092, -1.5556
SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.DERBYSHIRE.GOV.UK/LEISURE/COUNTRYSIDE/COUNTRYSIDE-SITES/WATERWAYS-WETLANDS/CROMFORD-CANAL.ASPX
Also in Cromford
WAGFINDER No photo yet
440 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors 2.8 MI · LOOP
DOGS WELCOME

Black Rocks and Cromford Moor

Cromford
No reviews yet
2.8MILES
1:45TIME
160mCLIMB
98%OFF-ROAD
Off-lead allowed

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.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
WAGFINDER No photo yet
Attraction DOGS WELCOME

Cromford Mills

DE4 3RQ
No reviews yet

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.

In the dining room
VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW ›
WAGFINDER No photo yet
Restaurant NOT CHECKED YET

Huntley Green

No reviews yet

Huntley Green is a place to eat in Cromford. It is listed here so you know it is there, but we have not yet established whether dogs are welcome — so there is no verdict on this page and no stamp. If it is your business, claim the page and tell us, and we will stamp it.

NOT CHECKED YET · IS THIS YOURS? VIEW ›

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