Cromford

Where Sir Richard Arkwright made his name, and his fabulous fortune. Cromford owes its appearance to the great cotton magnate, from millworkers’ cottages to a hotel, market place - and tiny gaol. Oh, and the castle which would have become his residence had he not died just before it was completed. Arkwright’s Cromford Mill only narrowly missed top vote in television’s first ‘Restoration’ series and is one of the Peak’s top visitor attractions. Scarthin mill pond with its swans and waterwheel make a picturesque scene and there is good level walking along Cromford Canal to High Peak Junction, part of the story of a remarkable narrow gauge railway. (See Middleton by Wirksworth.)