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Photo of Cromford, a village in Derbyshire, central England.

© Mike Peel / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cromford

National icon

Arkwright's first water-powered cotton mill, UNESCO site.

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OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles · data from OpenStreetMap · terrain Mapzen/AWS

Cromford is where the factory age began. Richard Arkwright built the world’s first successful water-powered cotton mill here in 1771, and laid out a village of stone cottages to house the workers who ran it around the clock. Cromford Mill is now the centrepiece of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and open to visitors. The station, on the Derwent Valley line, is a short walk north.

More places to visit near Cromford

Photo of Cromford Mill, a landmark in Derbyshire, central England.Highlight

Cromford Mill

Landmark near Cromford

Richard Arkwright's 1771 mill, the world's first successful water-powered cotton spinning works and heart of the Derwent Valley WHS.

0.6 km SW

Photo of Masson Mills, a landmark near Cromford, Derbyshire, central England.Highlight

Masson Mills

Landmark near Cromford

Arkwright's showpiece red-brick mill of 1783 on the Derwent at Matlock Bath, now a working textile museum.

0.9 km W

Photo of the Peak District, a National Park in England.Iconic

Peak District

National Park near Castleton

Britain's first national park: gritstone edges in the Dark Peak, limestone dales in the White.

2 km W

Photo of Lumsdale Falls, a waterfall near Matlock Bath, Derbyshire, central England.Highlight

Lumsdale Falls

Waterfall near Matlock Bath

Bentley Brook stepping down through the ruined water mills of the Lumsdale valley above Matlock — industrial archaeology dissolving into a fern gorge.

3.3 km N

Photo along the Pennine Bridleway, a 205-mile National Trail running from Middleton Top or Hartington to A683 at Cote Moor, England.Highlight

Pennine Bridleway

National Trail

The Pennines for horse and bike — old packhorse trails and drovers' roads.

3.5 km SW · spans 6 counties

Photo of Crich Tramway Village, a visitor attraction near Cromford, Derbyshire, central England.Highlight

Crich Tramway Village

Attraction near Cromford

National Tramway Museum near Crich, where vintage trams run through a recreated period street on a hillside above the Derwent.

4.9 km SE