One of very few cable cars in the UK, running from Matlock Bath, over the River Derwent to the Heights of Abraham hilltop park.
Dinosaur skeleton from one of the exhibitions.
Cromford Mill – the first water-powered cotton spinning mill – was built by Richard Arkwright in 1771. The mill has been partially restored, but mostly contains small shops and businesses rather than a museum.
Rather more interesting was the Masson Mill, a later cotton mill built by Arkwright in 1783. Production only finally stopped in 1991.
Turning raw cotton into thread and fabric was a long process. (L) Bales of row cotton were pulled apart in this fearsome machine nicknamed the “Devil”. (R) Carding separated and aligned the cotton fibres.
Plying involves twisting together yarns from different bobbins.
The Jacquard loom was used to create fabrics with complex patterns, determined by punched cards.
The cottage where we were based, in Wirksworth.
Pictures from a visit to the village of Eyam on the return route. It is most known for having isolated itself in in 1665 to stop the spread of the plague. The outbreak lasted 14 months, killing the majority of the villagers. (R) the panel from the village museum graphically illustrates the toll.