River guide
River Derwent (Derbyshire) in Derbyshire
12 checked stretches so far — day tickets, club waters and guest tickets, each checked against the club's own pages.
The lowdown
The River Derwent through Derbyshire changes character nicely, running from more urban and industrial surroundings around Derby and Darley Abbey into broader, more open floodplain country near Borrowash. This section has both fast gravelly shallows and deep, slow stretches.
The club reports chub, barbel, bream, roach, perch, pike, carp and tench, along with grayling, brown trout and dace throughout the river. Barbel, chub, bream, pike and perch can all reach good sizes, while river carp and tench are present but trickier to target.
Close season reminder
Coarse fishing on English rivers is closed from 15 March to 15 June inclusive. That's the law for coarse fish on rivers — it's not a club rule, and game-fishing seasons work differently.
GOV.UK — Freshwater rod fishing rules: when and where you can fishStretches
12 of 12 checked stretches. No rankings — we don't know which is "best" on your day, and neither does anyone else.
River Derwent: Darley Weir to Borrowash Bridge
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Day ticket
A cracking five-mile run of the River Derwent, from above Darley Abbey Weir down to Borrowash Bridge. It mixes quick gravelly water with deeper, slower sections, and the club lists a proper spread of coarse and river species.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
River Derwent — Ambergate to Milford
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Day ticket or members
A proper varied Derwent stretch from Ambergate through Belper to Milford, with roughly eight miles of club water. Deep steady pools, shallow runs, snags and boulders give you plenty to get stuck into.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
Upper River Derwent — Ladybower Reservoir outflow to Grindleford
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Club members or accompanied guests
A cracking six-mile fly-only run from the Ladybower outflow down to Grindleford, with wild brown trout and grayling, wooded gorges and proper Peak District scenery. It’s mainly a club and accompanied-guest water, rather than a wander-up-and-buy-a-ticket job.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
River Derwent — Whatstandwell
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Day ticket or members
Derwent - Whatstandwell is a mixed-fishery stretch run by Derbyshire County Angling Club, tucked into the wooded Derwent Valley. It’s available to full members and through the club’s coarse-access ticket, with the A6 and railway making the village easy to pick out.
Species not listed by the club.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
River Derwent — South Darley (Darley Dale)
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Day ticket or members
A cracking River Derwent venue around South Darley and Darley Dale, run by Derbyshire County Angling Club. It’s listed as mixed fishing, with access through DCAC membership or the club’s coarse tickets.
Species not listed by the club.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
River Derwent — Duffield stretch
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Members only
A cracking bit of Derbyshire Derwent water centred around Duffield, run by Derbyshire Angling Federation. It’s members-only, with fishing for pleasure, game and specimen anglers, plus a proper winter match scene.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
Chatsworth Estate Fishery — Baslow through Chatsworth Park to Rowsley
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Members or estate-stay guests
A cracking four-mile slice of the River Derwent, running from Baslow through Chatsworth Park to Rowsley. It’s an exclusive Chatsworth Estate fishery with both banks available and a resident River Keeper on hand.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
River Derwent — Allestree stretch
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Members only
Allestree is a mixed river stretch on the Derwent near Derby, run by Derbyshire County Angling Club. It’s an open, meandering bit of river through floodplain and parkland around Breadsall and Allestree.
Species not listed by the club.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
Cromford Fly Fishers Club — Cromford Bridge to Holmesford Cottage Meadows
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Members only
A cracking three-mile, double-bank fly-fishing beat on the River Derwent, running from Cromford Bridge down to Holmesford Cottage Meadows. It’s club water, with pool, riffle and glide sequences, varied depths and a proper mix of river character.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
Pride of Derby River Derwent — Church Wilne/Great Wilne to the River Trent confluence
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Members only
A proper historic bit of the Derwent, running from around Church Wilne and Great Wilne down to the River Trent confluence. It’s natural river fishing, with quick shallow water, deeper glides nearby and a cracking mix of chub, barbel and other coarse fish.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
River Derwent — Matlock Bath
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Club members
A proper scenic 200-yard game-fishing stretch through Matlock Bath, run by Derby Railway Angling Club. It’s members-only trout water, with firm gravel, alder cover and a mix of pools, glides and riffles.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
The Peacock at Rowsley — River Derwent fishery
River Derwent (Derbyshire) · Hotel residents or guided guests
A proper scenic slice of the River Derwent near Rowsley, with roughly 3 to 3.5 miles of double-bank fishing. It’s for hotel residents and guided guests rather than a turn-up-and-fish day-ticket water, with trout fishing and winter grayling opportunities on the menu.
Checked 10 Oct 2026
Pins mark the access postcode each club gives, not the bank itself. Exact boundary map: see rights holder.
Access & tickets
River Derwent adult day ticket — online store
The Earl of Harrington's Angling Club
Adult session ticket. The online store states that the price includes postage and PayPal fees.
£8 per adult session (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent: Darley Weir to Borrowash Bridge
River Derwent adult day ticket — club ticket-and-outlets page
The Earl of Harrington's Angling Club
Adult day ticket listed for the 2026/27 season.
£7 for the 2026/27 season (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent: Darley Weir to Borrowash Bridge
Environment Agency rod licence
The Earl of Harrington's Angling Club
Required before fishing.
Covers: River Derwent: Darley Weir to Borrowash Bridge
Senior day ticket
Belper & District Angling Club
Valid from 16 June to 14 March, dawn to dusk. Must be purchased in advance.
£5 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — Ambergate to Milford
OAP or disabled day ticket
Belper & District Angling Club
Proof of entitlement required. Valid from 16 June to 14 March, dawn to dusk, and must be purchased in advance.
£4 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — Ambergate to Milford
Junior day ticket
Belper & District Angling Club
Valid from 16 June to 14 March, dawn to dusk, and must be purchased in advance.
£3 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — Ambergate to Milford
Member fishing
Derwent Fly Fishing Club
Derwent Fly Fishing Club membership access, subject to the club’s rules and seasonal limits.
Covers: Upper River Derwent — Ladybower Reservoir outflow to Grindleford
Guest day ticket
Derwent Fly Fishing Club
Members receive five complimentary guest day tickets at the start of the season and may buy up to three additional guest day tickets. Guests must be accompanied, booked onto a beat and may fish for no more than seven days in a season.
Price for additional guest day tickets is set by the AGM. (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: Upper River Derwent — Ladybower Reservoir outflow to Grindleford
Coarse-access ticket
Derbyshire County Angling Club
Covers listed coarse rivers and stillwaters; valid for 12 months from purchase; excludes night fishing.
£85 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — Whatstandwell
Coarse-with-night-permit ticket
Derbyshire County Angling Club
Club ticket option. Night fishing is specifically listed for Lower Derwent, Dr’s Surgery and Darley Dale, not specifically for Whatstandwell.
£105 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — Whatstandwell
Day membership
Derbyshire County Angling Club
The club offers a day-membership option through Catch. Check Catch for current day-ticket waters and prices.
Covers: River Derwent — Whatstandwell
DCAC coarse ticket
Derbyshire County Angling Club
Includes Derwent - South Darley. Valid for 12 months from purchase.
£85 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — South Darley (Darley Dale)
DCAC coarse ticket with night permit
Derbyshire County Angling Club
Includes Darley Dale night access and the Lower Derwent and Darley Dale night-permit waters. Valid for 12 months from purchase.
£105 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — South Darley (Darley Dale)
DCAC full membership
Derbyshire County Angling Club
Includes the club’s waters, with the listed joining fee subject to stated exemptions.
£370 membership; £380 joining fee (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — South Darley (Darley Dale)
Adult season ticket 2026–27
Derbyshire Angling Federation
Federation season ticket, valid from 16 June to 15 June the following year.
£45 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — Duffield stretch
OAP/concession season ticket 2026–27
Derbyshire Angling Federation
Federation season ticket, valid from 16 June to 15 June the following year.
£35 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — Duffield stretch
Juvenile
Derbyshire Angling Federation
Juveniles fish free when accompanied by a fully paid-up member.
Free (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — Duffield stretch
Chatsworth guest fishing package — one person
Chatsworth Estate
Minimum two-night stay at a Chatsworth Estate hotel or cottage. Includes a one-day permit, River Keeper introduction and guidance, and a riverside picnic lunch.
£200 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: Chatsworth Estate Fishery — Baslow through Chatsworth Park to Rowsley
Chatsworth guest fishing package — two people
Chatsworth Estate
Minimum two-night stay at a Chatsworth Estate hotel or cottage. Includes one-day permits, River Keeper introduction and guidance, and a riverside picnic lunch.
£300 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: Chatsworth Estate Fishery — Baslow through Chatsworth Park to Rowsley
Chatsworth guest fishing package — three people
Chatsworth Estate
Minimum two-night stay at a Chatsworth Estate hotel or cottage. Includes one-day permits, River Keeper introduction and guidance, and a riverside picnic lunch.
£380 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: Chatsworth Estate Fishery — Baslow through Chatsworth Park to Rowsley
DCAC full membership
Derbyshire County Angling Club
Provides access to the Allestree stretch.
Covers: River Derwent — Allestree stretch
DCAC coarse membership
Derbyshire County Angling Club
Access to listed coarse rivers and stillwaters; excludes night fishing.
£85 for 12 months (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — Allestree stretch
DCAC coarse-with-night-permit membership
Derbyshire County Angling Club
Night permit package, though Allestree is not named on the official night-fishing list.
£105 for 12 months (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: River Derwent — Allestree stretch
2026 ordinary membership
Cromford Fly Fishers Club
Cromford Fly Fishers Club membership; limited to 100 ordinary members.
£230 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: Cromford Fly Fishers Club — Cromford Bridge to Holmesford Cottage Meadows
2026 junior membership
Cromford Fly Fishers Club
Cromford Fly Fishers Club membership; limited to 10 juniors.
£50 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: Cromford Fly Fishers Club — Cromford Bridge to Holmesford Cottage Meadows
2026–2027 adult standard ticket
The Pride of Derby Angling Association Limited
Club membership. Access to the club’s waters from 15 June to 16 June the following year.
£100 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: Pride of Derby River Derwent — Church Wilne/Great Wilne to the River Trent confluence
New adult member joining fee
The Pride of Derby Angling Association Limited
Payable with the standard adult ticket.
£20 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: Pride of Derby River Derwent — Church Wilne/Great Wilne to the River Trent confluence
Gate key
The Pride of Derby Angling Association Limited
Available with an application. Lost replacement is listed at £30.
£10 (as listed 10/10/2026)
Covers: Pride of Derby River Derwent — Church Wilne/Great Wilne to the River Trent confluence
Trout Ticket Member access
Derby Railway Angling Club
Required for this Matlock Bath game-fishing stretch; it is not a day-ticket water.
Covers: River Derwent — Matlock Bath
Environment Agency rod licence
Derby Railway Angling Club
Required when fishing.
Covers: River Derwent — Matlock Bath
Day ticket
The Peacock at Rowsley / Haddon Estate
Available exclusively to hotel residents and guided guests; issued at the Riverkeeper’s discretion and subject to first-come, first-served availability.
Covers: The Peacock at Rowsley — River Derwent fishery
Guided fishing and tuition
The Peacock at Rowsley / Haddon Estate
Available through the Haddon Estate.
Covers: The Peacock at Rowsley — River Derwent fishery
Environment Agency rod licence
The Peacock at Rowsley / Haddon Estate
Required, with any applicable local conditions to be checked before fishing.
Covers: The Peacock at Rowsley — River Derwent fishery
Species
We only tag a stretch with a fish when the club names it. Some clubs name fish across all their water rather than stretch by stretch — those are flagged on the card.
● named by the club for this stretch · ●* named across the club's waters · blank = not named (not "absent").
Rules — who runs what
The Earl of Harrington's Angling Club
Day tickets must be bought before fishing. They are available through The Earl of Harrington’s Angling Club online store and through the club’s listed ticket outlets.
Club pageBelper & District Angling Club
Buy a day ticket in advance from the club’s approved ticket arrangements; no bank sales are available. Annual club permits run from 1 January to 31 December, with limited night permits available to members for Wyver Lane Pond.
Club pageFishing is primarily for Derwent Fly Fishing Club members and accompanied guests. Members receive five complimentary guest day tickets at the start of the season and may buy up to three more at a price set by the AGM; guest beats must be booked through the club.
Club pageDerbyshire County Angling Club
Join Derbyshire County Angling Club for coarse membership access, or check Catch for day-ticket availability and the current price. The £105 coarse ticket includes the night permit, while the £85 annual coarse ticket is valid for 12 months from purchase.
Club pageAccess is by Derbyshire Angling Federation season ticket, not a public day ticket, and no permits are issued on the river bank. Tickets are available at renewal meetings at the Bridge Inn, Duffield; existing members can pay the Federation bank account, or applications can be sent to the ticket secretary in Ripley.
Club pageChatsworth Estate
Guest fishing is available through a Chatsworth Estate hotel or cottage stay, with a minimum two-night booking. Membership is also available through Chatsworth Fishery, though the estate says the waiting list may be two or three years.
Fishing is through Cromford Fly Fishers Club membership. The 2026 ordinary membership fee is £230, while junior membership is £50; membership is limited to 100 ordinary members and 10 juniors.
Club pageThe Pride of Derby Angling Association Limited
This is membership fishing rather than a routine public day-ticket stretch. The 2026–2027 adult standard ticket is £100, plus a £20 joining fee and £10 gate key, making £130 total for a new adult member.
Club pageThis is Derby Railway Angling Club water and the club does not advertise day tickets for the stretch. Join as an Associate Coarse member for coarse fishing, or take Associate Trout & Coarse membership for all club waters and both game and coarse fishing; memberships run annually from 16 June.
Club pageThe Peacock at Rowsley / Haddon Estate
Fishing is arranged through The Peacock at Rowsley, with guided fishing and tuition available from the Haddon Estate. Contact the hotel or Riverkeeper before travelling to confirm availability and arrangements; day tickets are limited to hotel residents and guided guests.
Fished the river recently?
Pick the stretch you fished and add a 20-second update there — one stretch at a time keeps it useful.
Each stretch page lists its own key rules. You'll need an Environment Agency rod licence on all of them.
River levels
Measured readings straight from the Environment Agency. These are the nearest gauges we've matched — not readings from the stretches themselves.
Measured — Environment Agency
Church Wilne gauge
Nearest EA gauge we've matched — it isn't on this stretch, so levels on your peg will differ.
Loading latest reading…
We don't publish an "ideal level" — nobody can promise one. Flood water is dangerous: if it's up and coloured, stay well back from the edge. Open River Ready
Measured — Environment Agency
Derby City gauge
Nearest EA gauge we've matched — it isn't on this stretch, so levels on your peg will differ.
Loading latest reading…
We don't publish an "ideal level" — nobody can promise one. Flood water is dangerous: if it's up and coloured, stay well back from the edge. Open River Ready
Measured — Environment Agency
Mytham Bridge gauge
Nearest EA gauge we've matched — it isn't on this stretch, so levels on your peg will differ.
Loading latest reading…
We don't publish an "ideal level" — nobody can promise one. Flood water is dangerous: if it's up and coloured, stay well back from the edge. Open River Ready
Tips & reports
Our take (editorial, not club advice): on any decent-sized river, a lead that holds bottom without dragging is half the battle — go up in weight before you go up in bait. A bit of extra colour after rain often brings barbel and bream closer in, but a fast-rising, debris-filled river is dangerous; if in doubt, don't. Weather tools built for still lakes don't translate neatly to rivers, so we haven't bolted a lake-style weather score on here.
No angler reports on these stretches yet — we'll only show real ones once our moderated river reports are live.
Where this comes from · checked 10 Oct 2026
- GOV.UK — Freshwater rod fishing rules: when and where you can fish
- The Earl of Harrington's Angling Club — home (theearlofharringtonsac.co.uk)
- Belper & District Angling Club — river derwent ambergate to milford (belperanglingclub.uk)
- Derwent Fly Fishing Club — home (derwentflyfishingclub.co.uk)
- Derbyshire County Angling Club — home (derbyshirecountyac.org)
- Derbyshire Angling Federation — home (derbyshireanglingfed.co.uk)
- Chatsworth Estate — fishing (chatsworth.org)
- Cromford Fly Fishers Club — home (cromfordflyfishersclub.co.uk)
- The Pride of Derby Angling Association Limited — home (prideofderby.co.uk)
- Derby Railway Angling Club — home (drac.org.uk)
- The Peacock at Rowsley / Haddon Estate — find your perfect catch (thepeacockatrowsley.com)
Rules, prices and ticket availability change — the rights holder's own page always wins.