High Peak Junction, Cromford

Start from the terminal basin and walk a little way along the Cromford Canal and you will come across High Peak Junction.

This is where the Cromford and High Peak Railway began, reaching Bugsworth Basin near Whaley Bridge by a combination of conventional railway and rope-hauled inclines.

It was later to be connected with the Midland Railway near Cromford, but originally all goods were transshipped from the canal before being taken over the Derbyshire hills towards Manchester.

Amazingly, this line not close until 1967, which means that Sheep Pasture Incline (which begins at High Peak Junction) and its engine house were in use until then. Today the trackbed forms part of the High Peak Trail and you can climb the incline yourself and see this remarkable gradient post.