Crich brings together a range of themes: historic trams, regimental remembrance and paths through native woodland. This makes it an interesting place to stay, where cultural history and landscape play an equally important role. The National Tramway Museum focuses on historic transport; Crich Stand is a place of remembrance with views, while the Woodland Walk leads through woodland and countryside. These different aspects can help you decide whether Crich is the right destination for your interests.
Trams and traces of industrial heritage
The National Tramway Museum in Crich is an open-air museum and an attraction devoted to historic transport. Visitors can ride on restored historic trams there. The ride offers a vivid introduction to transport history and is a practical reason to include the museum in your travel plans.
Tramway Street is home to a collection of historic buildings. This adds another perspective on historic architecture to a ride on a restored tram. Together, these aspects give the museum a clear focus: it is not just about vehicles, but also about the built heritage of transport history.
The portal to Stephenson's Tunnel in Crich also points to early railway history. The tramway tunnel portal was built by George Stephenson in 1841 and is a remnant of the world's first railway with metre gauge. The portal and the trams at the museum offer different points of interest for anyone interested in historic forms of transport and their history.
The Butterley Gangroad adds the transport of raw materials to this picture. In the area around Crich, it carried limestone from quarries near the village of Crich to the Cromford Canal and ran beneath a road junction in Fritchley. While the tunnel portal points to a metre-gauge railway, the gangroad shows the route taken by limestone between the quarries and the canal.
Crich Stand and historic buildings
Crich Stand, a Grade II* listed regimental memorial to the Sherwood Foresters, stands on the summit of Crich Hill. It commemorates 11,409 members of the regiment who died in the First World War. Crich Stand also serves as a viewpoint and as an inland lighthouse. The memorial thus combines its commemorative purpose with two other functions of the structure.
St Mary's Church in Crich offers a different historical perspective: it is a medieval Anglican church with a core dating from the 12th century. The medieval classification describes the church as a whole; the date of the core provides a more precise point of reference. Together with Crich Stand and the tunnel portal, Crich's cultural history thus extends beyond transport history.
Woodland paths, views and getting there
The Woodland Walk & Sculpture Trail passes through native woodland and features sculptures. The Woodland Walk also offers views over the Derwent Valley and the Derbyshire countryside. Along the way, the sculptures in the woodland are complemented by views of the valley and surrounding landscape. Crich Chase is also connected with the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and its buffer zone.
Whatstandwell is the nearest railway station for reaching the National Tramway Museum. From there, a steep footpath of about a mile leads to the museum. If you include this route in your journey, take the gradient into account and check the timetable before travelling. This will help you factor in the conditions for getting there when deciding what to visit.
Discover more destinations: Eyam, Ashover, Belper, Furness Vale, Kirk Ireton, Chesterfield, Wirksworth, Hartington.
Back to the main travel overview: Derbyshire.
