Riber Castle & Heights of Abraham from Cromford

A very varied walk with lots of interesting features and history. Riber Castle and Willesly Castle (neither of which are actually castles) born of great rivalry between Richard Arkwright and John Smedley who were important industrialists in the 18th Century. Richard Arkwright created many mills in this area and we can see several of those on our route. John Smedley's mill is still in operation today making it the oldest factory in the world still in operation. Amazing.

Great scenic walk.

Dogs are welcome as long as they can be kept under control and are not constantly jumping up at people or barking.

Please take LOTS of pictures and upload them to this Meetup page so everyone can see how much fun you had.

Bring snacks, fluids and a lunch packup. Waterproofs would be a good idea too.

Lift sharing is strongly encouraged, just leave a message below if offering or asking for a lift.

Please allow plenty of time for parking and kitting up just in case and share transport if you can.

We do not wait for latecomers!

Since the end of the COVID lockdowns it has been apparent to anyone attending walks that another epidemic has taken hold which is members booking to come on walks and then not showing up. Occasionally people have last minute problems which prevent them attending but this doesn't explain the scale of the problem and the level of discourtesy to walk leaders and other attendees affected by it. It is a matter of seconds on Meetup to register an RSVP and an equal number of seconds to take yourself off of an event and there can be little excuse for not doing so preferably with at least 24 hours notice so the person organising the event can adjust their plans accordingly.

Meet: 10:15am for prompt 10:30am start.
Distance: 8 miles
Accumulated Ascent: 482m
Nearest postcode: DE4 3RQ
What3Words: survey.liquids.coasting
Google Street View: https://maps.app.goo.gl/7RaMFKLmb6SQGtN57
Komoot: CLICK HERE