Walks you can reach from Cromford by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Cromford.
Matlock Circular via Nine Ladies Stone Circle (Derbyshire)
3 minutes direct from Cromford.
Nine Ladies is a Bronze Age stone circle constructed between 3300-900 BCE; legend associates stones with women punished for Sunday dancing.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Ambergate Circular via Pentrich (Derbyshire)
15 minutes direct from Cromford.
Mixture of hilly and flat terrain with stiles along the way. Telling the story of the Pentrich Rising of 1817, exploring the local men who took part. Route passes through Fritchley and South Wingfield.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Belper Circular via Kilburn (Derbyshire)
15 minutes direct from Cromford.
Hilly countryside with several steep climbs. Alport Heights — a 314 m peak five miles away — is visible from the route on clear days. Route passes Holbrook.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Several steep climbs.
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Similar walk: Visit Amber Valley (PDF).
Duffield Circular via the Chevin (Derbyshire)
30 minutes direct from Cromford.
Undulating countryside with several steep climbs.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Several steep climbs.
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Similar walk: Visit Amber Valley (PDF).
Derby Circular via Allestree Park (Derbyshire)
30 minutes direct from Cromford.
Parks, river and heritage trail.
Museum of Making (30m in)
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
6 lunch spots: Darley Park (1h15 in) — Darley Park Terrace Cafe, the Little Darley in the Park, the Abbey Inn, or the Darleys; plus the Joiners Arms (3h in), or the Orangery Café (4h in)
4 end-of-walk rewards: the Alexandra Hotel, the Brunswick, the Victoria Inn, or the Waterfall
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Similar walk: North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership.
Ambergate to Langley Mill (Derbyshire)
15 minutes direct from Cromford.
One of the world’s oldest industrial regions. Overgrown canal towpath, woodland and field crossings and ironworks remains. Follows the route of the disused Cromford Canal. Butterley Tunnel (nearly 3 km) collapsed in 1900, severing the canal into two sections.
Waterway: two thirds along the Cromford Canal.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Substantial tree blockages on overgrown sections; busy A610 road crossing.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Ambergate to Alfreton (Derbyshire)
15 minutes direct from Cromford.
Impressive views back across Amber valley. Predominantly countryside walk. Walk takes in Pentrich, where the doomed Pentrich Revolution began in June 1817 — an early working-class uprising following the Napoleonic Wars. Route follows parts of the former Cromford Canal.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Follows a busy road for a sixth of the walk. Busy A610 with lorry traffic; stiles.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Ambergate to Whatstandwell (Derbyshire)
15 minutes direct from Cromford.
Excellent views. Unmade road, woodland paths and open parkland and field paths. No steep climbs. Follows the Midshires Way for a substantial section.
Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Take care crossing the A6.
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Belper to Ambergate (Derbyshire)
15 minutes direct from Cromford.
Footpaths, wooded valley paths, fields, stiles and tracks and a ridgeline route.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Knee-trapper stiles; two steady climbs make this a more demanding route.
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Belper to Duffield (Derbyshire)
15 minutes direct from Cromford.
Superb views over open country. Footpaths through ancient deer park, farm tracks, a tarmaced lane and bridleway across fields and river-bank path. Passes through the historic settlements of Bargate and Holbrook and follows the Midshires Way for part of the route.
Time: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: The right of way cuts straight through the front yards of a row of cottages — this is the right of way.
Walk details: Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (local insights).
Duffield to Derby (Derbyshire)
30 minutes direct from Cromford.
Repurposed railway track along the Great Northern Greenway.
Duffield Castle (National Trust)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Bell and Harp (1h in), or the Three Horseshoes (2h15 in)
4 end-of-walk rewards: the Alexandra Hotel, the Brunswick, the Waterfall, or the Merry Widows
Warnings: Follows a busy road for a sixth of the walk.
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.
Derby to Long Eaton (Derbyshire)
30 minutes direct from Cromford.
Waterways — River Derwent, Derby & Sandiacre Canal and Erewash Canal.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: Canal Cottage Cafe (2h45 in), or the Navigation (3h15 in)
2 end-of-walk rewards: Peking House, or the Sawley Junction
Adapted from: the Leicester Ramblers.