Seeing the glistening bodies swimming up and down the lido from the balcony of my room, I was tempted, after breakfast, to have a dip. The temperature of the water in the pool was around 18 degrees. It felt bitter cold when first immersing, but quite acceptable once I was swimming. The water felt so clean, so refreshing, compared with normal swimming in pool water.
Matlock Bath has so much to offer it could be worth a two night stay, the Heights, Gulliver’s Kingdom, an aquarium, the Mining Museum, and Arkwright’s Cromford and Masson Mills, so the well-appointed New Bath Hotel would make a perfect base.Unfortunately, as we left the hotel toward Cromford, we saw that the Masson Mill museum and shopping centre is closed due to coronavirus, hopefully only temporarily.
Round the bend we did not follow the A6 through the dramatic cut in the rock created by Richard Arkwright for the turnpike when he extended his mill, but took the old road, now a path, opposite Willersley Castle, his home, toward the bridge and the church he built for his workers. Designed by Thomas Gardener in 1792 a classic Georgian style, St Mary’s was later ‘Gothicised’ by Henry Stevens, and in 1898 a striking series of wall paintings were added by Alfred Octavius. As workmen were inside, we were able to take a brief look, including the memorials to all the later Arkwright’s who had invested in the church.
Built in 1771 with Jedediah Strutt, Cromford Mill, was the world’s first successful water powered Cotton Mill transforming the manufacture of textiles from a cottage industry to an industrial one, amassing a fortune for Arkwight, the 13th child of a poor family, a sum equal to the National debt, and, in the process, transforming the Derwent Valley for ever.
We passed by the Mills, which were open and busy, as we had visited many times before, to Cromford Wharf and along the canal towpath, so popular with walkers. It is along this busy section where the Derwent Valley Trust is seeking an alternative route for the Cycleway across the river to avoid congestion on high days and holidays.
The surviving workshops at High Peak Junction, in place by 1830, are among the world’s oldest. This is where the Cycleway would re-join our route, and go past the Wharf Shed, a little further south. Cargo was transferred here from the Cromford Canal to the Cromford and High Peak Railway over the Peak District to Manchester.
The magnificent Leawood Pumphouse contains a steam powered beam engine that raised water from the river into the canal, and is occasionally worked by volunteers today.
As we crossed over the river beside the canal, Aqueduct Cottage came into view. Placed at the junction with the Lea arm of the canal, built by Nightingale, it is now being restored from its dereliction jointly by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust, to become an interpretive centre.
The walk alongside the canal all the way to Ambergate is beautifully tranquil, calming the soul, as reflected by the care residents have taken of their gardens in the few cottages that adjoin its banks.
Pause on the way at Whatstandwell to read its history and of Florence Nightingales dispensary, and afterward pause again to look for water voles, little grebes, dragonflies, damselflies , meadowsweet and watermint, as this southern section is now an SSSI and Local Nature Reserve.
We lunched at the recently refurbished and expanded Hurt Arms. Not only has the building been refreshed, but also the menu. The hanging kebab and burger we ordered were served with drama in a towering basket accompanied by a traditional Barnsley Bitter.
Walking around the idyllic Ambergate cricket field we crossed Halfpenny Bridge, an old toll bridge over the Derwent, and up the steep path through The Birches, owned by the Woodland Trust, the southern end of the ancient Shining Cliff Woods.
Emerging onto Whitewells Lane, for half a mile we enjoyed good views down the valley, before stepping down a stile and crossing fields to Wyver Lane. This lovely route into Belper, past the Nature Reserve and historic rifle range, has recently been part resurfaced with funds raised by The Derwent Valley Trust to create a safe family cycleway for the people of Belper, the Trust is currently running a crowdfunding campaign to resurface the remainder.
Approaching Belper as the great English Cotton’s East Mill came into view, we witnessed the beautiful gardens and cottages lining Wyver Lane – clearly an indication of a caring community.
Crossing the bridge, we look over the foaming Horseshoe Weir to the River Gardens beyond where the new tea rooms are under construction. Onto North Mill built by William Stutt in 1804 for cotton yarn manufacture to replace a former timber framed mill destroyed by fire where he perfected the concept of ‘fireproof’ iron framed construction that was to copied around the world and ultimately enabled the construction of skyscapers (perhaps Belper has a lot to answer for!). We continued under the arch that connected North and West Mill, and on, via The Triangle, past the school, to the workers housing in Long Row. All built by Strutt and a model settlement in its day, copied by later enlightened socially minded entrepreneurs.
Our hostelry for the night was The Lion Hotel Belper, refurbished to a good standard by the Crooks family five years ago, with well-appointed rooms and a wide-ranging menu. We chose the days special of chicken liver pate with fig jam to start, and pheasant wrapped in Pancetta with baby roast potatoes and carrots in a rich port wine sauce and were very impressed with the cuisine.
