The Cromford Canal

Completed in 1794, the Cromford Canal ran for 14.5 miles from the village of Cromford to a junction with the Erewash Canal at Langley Mill. In addition to linking Sir Richard Arkwright's pioneering cotton mills at Cromford with the national canal network, it also carried lime for the Butterley Company from their quarries near Crich to their ironworks at Butterley on the outskirts of Ripley. At High Peak Junction, the canal connected with one of the world's first railways, the Cromford and High Peak Railway. A catastrophic collapse of Butterley Tunnel in 1900 permanently isolated the western section of the canal from the national network. Despite this, the isolated section between Cromford and Ripley remained in use until 1944. The five-mile section between Cromford and Ambergate has now been restored, and the towpath has become a very popular walking route.