Manchester Weekend Walkers lead public transport walks into fantastic countryside all year round.
Train-based walk
Leader: Matthew, joining the train at Reddish North
Ascent: 500 metres
Transport to Walk Start: 09:19 train from Manchester Piccadilly station (final destination New Mills Central, arriving 09:51). Alternatively, a train to nearby stop New Mills Newtown departs from Stockport at 09:04, arriving 09:28, leaving plenty of time for the approximately 15-minute walk across to New Mills Central. There is also plenty of free on-street parking available in the town of New Mills, but no station car park at Central Station. The no. 61 bus service run by High Peak Buses also connects New Mills directly with Buxton and Glossop, see www.highpeakbuses.com for details.
Meet Point: Near the ticket barriers at Piccadilly Station. Alternatively, meet on the train or at the walk start by the station buildings on Platform 1 at New Mills Central.
Suggested Ticket: An Off-Peak Day Return from Manchester to New Mills costs £9.00. At time of writing, a limited number of Advance Single tickets are available at £3.70 each way.
Walk Start: New Mills Central Station at 10:00, from outside the station buildings.
Waypoints: Torrvale Road, Peak Forest Canal, Goytside Meadows Local Nature Reserve, Ladypit Road, Howcroft Farm, Laneside Road, New Allotments, Phoside Farm, Highgate Road, Hayfield Bus Station, Swallow House Lane, Stitch Lane, Thornsett Cemetery, Sett Valley Trail, Torrs Hydro, Millennium Bridge.
Return Services: Trains from New Mills Central to Piccadilly at x:34/35 and x:01/02/03 until 22:01, then 22:26, 23:11, 23:36. Also services from New Mills Newtown at x:10/11 and x:39/40 until 19:40, then Xl38 until 22:38 and the last train at 23:22. The last no. 61 bus to Glossop leaves New Mills Bus Station at 18:53.
Extra: No toilets at the walk start and none on the route until the lunch break, and then none till the end of the walk. Lunch will be at Hayfield where there is a picnic area right next to the village's bus station. There is also a pub next door called The George for anyone who facies a swift half. The most likely pub stop at the end of the walk is Pride of The Peaks, near the bus station in New Mills.
If you wish to take a dog on this walk, please contact the walk leader by e-mail at matthew.ball673@ntlworld.com to confirm suitability for the conditions and terrain. Please do not bring a dog unless you are well known to the group.
Please also note that the route of this walk may be amended, or the walk cut short, in the event that weather conditions make it unsafe to carry it out as initially planned.
There is a possible bail out option at Hayfield, where you can catch buses to New Mills and other locations.
Most of the paths we use on this route are pretty good - bridleway status or above - however, some may well be waterlogged at this time of year, so good boots are essential. Owing to flooding being such a big problem in February, the route includes some road walking, but only along roads that have very little traffic.
The first two miles of the walk are (mostly) pretty flat, following streets, canals and rivers. After this we enter a long, continuous climb in to the moorlands which over the next two miles takes us from 200 metres above sea level to 450 metres. After this we spend the next 1.5 miles descending back down to 200 metres again, before the lunch stop at Hayfield, estimated to be between 1:00pm and 1:30pm. After lunch, there is another climb, but this time much easier, and only taking us to 250 metres, before descending again to the Sett Valley Trail and then the Torrs Riverside Park. Right at the end there is a nice steep climb to get back to the railway station.
The scenery includes: a historic stone-built mill town; canals and then the River Goyt; windswept moorland; a picturesque village (i.e. Hayfield); views overlooking the Sett Valley; a former railway line converted for walkers; spectacular riverside scenery in New Mills, including the Millennium Bridge.
