Location, parking and toilet facilities
Cromford Wharf can be found off the A6 at Cromford. There is a large car park which has a hard compacted surface with shingle top dressing.
There are toilet facilities for people with disabilities in both the ladies and gents toilets.
The surface of the track is hard and compacted for the majority of it’s length, becoming less flat further along and a little stony and bumpy in places. Beware overhanging nettles and brambles especially where the path is narrow.
See photo opposite of track surface with wheelchair wheel in view.
One mile from the car park is a bridge over the canal. Here are the High Peak Junction workshops (end of the High Peak Trail) where refreshments are available as well as picnic tables, information and toilets. New accessible toilets, suitable for people with disabilities were completed Easter 2005.
If you continue along the canal on the same side as the junction workshops, you will need to turn off left after approximately 500 yards. See picture opposite.
2¼ miles from the start, at Cromford Wharf, there is a tunnel which has a very uneven surface. There is a rail alongside the canal edge of the path but extreme caution is needed through the tunnel. Also, watch your head on the curved roof of the tunnel.
See photo opposite.
When you arrive at the point where the path crosses the B5035, I would recommend that you do not proceed any further. At the time of my visit, I did try this myself but found the road crossing difficult and the path along the canal on the other side of the road very narrow, cambered and very close to the waters edge. I personally felt that it was too dangerous for me to proceed any further.
Towpath just along from High Peak Junction