More from the Peaks and Dales

This is certainly a centre fir walking and there are so many tracks and paths directly fro  the bilkage. One of our favourites is along the river Bradford into Youlgate which can be accessed from several spots along the way. Over the weekend we were very impressed to see the  number of groups of young people walking in their hiking gear, equipped with OS maps taking to the various paths. It seems it is  part of the Duke of Ed award scheme which is going strong here. We enjoyed lots of chats with walkers and their dogs. There is one spot on the river which has been dammed and forms a swimming hole which was in full, use by the locals!! A bit chilly  even though it was sunny.
There is a history of lead mining here and mills for a woollen ndustry, traces of which can be spotted along the river. 
Track along the River Bradford, 
The local swimming hole.

More Historical Visits
We visited the famous Cromford Mills - a UNESCO heritage site which were established by Sir Richard Arkwright in 1771. He was a man of vision,   not only developing the water-powered spinning mill  but building houses for his workers, regulating hours of work to include holidays and building schools for the children, insisting that they went to school. The museum includes models of the various spinning machines and looms and informative story boards.
We had an interesting chat with one of the guides who told us that the raw cotton was broight to the mills at  Cromford  over the summer months from the ports of London and Liverpool by horse and cart and stored in the warehouse,
Another pleasing feature of the area was the canal with its towpath and interesting industrial relics on the way. We took a long and very enjoyable walk with canal viaducts over the railway line and the river Trent.
The old pumping station by the canal.
The canal e tering a long tunnel under the road. 
And, after a .ongoing walk  time for coffee before exploring the mill site.

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