Introduction
Just like last week, today’s weather was clear and sunny for this shortish walk in the familiar area around New Mills.
New Mills Newtown is about half an hour’s drive from Cheadle Hulme. However, the station is easily accessible by train on the Manchester to Buxton line, changing at Stockport. So, I decided to take the train, and accounting for free travel pensioners can get within the Greater Manchester boundary, the total cost was just £5.80 for me!
The walk is 4.3 miles with 540 feet of ascent.
It took 2 hours 15 minutes to complete, plus a 15 minute lunch break.
I wouldn’t recommend this route for dog walking due to some tricky farmland sections over the hilly mid-section, though a circuit of the riverside route near the end of my walk and the Peak Forest Canal towpath would make a pleasant walk, ideal for dog walking.
I walked in an anticlockwise direction.
The walk is on OS Explorer Map OL1.
There is some free roadside parking, or the station car park had spaces too at a reasonable cost (under £3), postcode SK22 3JW, What 3 Words //stood.form.graced
Newtown To Kiln Knoll
The walk started with a bridge crossing over the railway line near to where I had alighted from the train. It’s one of three rail lines that still run through New Mills.
I crossed the A6 and began the ascent of Redmoor Lane, a track / bridleway. Before long I had views over the house roofs.
I came to the first farmhouse, and recalled seeing a photographing this splendid tractor before.
After the farmhouse, it becomes evident that Redmoor Lane hasn’t really been a lane as we would know it for a very long time.
Just before Redmoor Farm I stopped to enjoy the view over the small reservoir to Kinder Scout beyond.
There were cattle in the field near Redmoor Farm, so I diverted through an adjacent field, returning to the route a little further on, just below my high point, Kiln Hill. Atop Kiln Hill, I took in the equally splendid view to the east.
There were lots of meadow pipits and skylarks hiding in the grass. A couple of pipits came close – the one in my header picture, and this one –
Descent To The River Goyt
Retaining old tractors must be a hobby round here!
I crossed the fields , where the grass was long and pretty wet from last night’s rain. I was soon crossing the A6 again and took a short path through a terrace of cottages, the last of which enjoyed a colourful garden.
Over the garden fence is the railway line, and the path drops down underneath it. Make sure to duck!
In a classic ribbon development, after the main road and the railway comes the canal.
I’ve walked and boated along here several times, and, after the event, I now wish I had taken the towpath again, returning to the riverside at the weir marked on the map. The route I took is along a road, then a well fenced track through farm fields, mostly some distance from the riverside.
The Torrs
You know you’re at the Torrs when you meet the first of three tall arched viaducts that cross the river valley. This one carries a railway line.
A little further on, the second viaduct is a two-storey construction carrying the A6015.
The central area of The Torrs is the site of a long demolished mill. It is the confluence of the the Rivers Goyt and Sett, and the weir incorporates an Archimedes screw electricity generator. Behind the pretty, low level bridge is the third viaduct, also carrying a road.
Below the weir, a female goosander and a fisherman were hunting their prey!
Of course, the modern centrepiece of The Torrs is the magnificent Millenium Walkway, allowing us all to walk through the gorge and on downstream by the River Goyt.
The surviving mill here houses a fine cafe and The Torr Vale Tap… well it would be rude not to!
I returned to the riverside, and a short way along, crossed the wooden bridge.
A steep path and road led back to the station , via the (literally) sweet smelling Swizzels sweet factory gate, opposite which is this house with its stunning wall of red and green ivy.
This is an easy short walk, and absolutely delightful, especially in the glorious weather I enjoyed today.
And Finally….
Yard Act’s music is quite intense. However, I quite like the lyrics of this song. It’s Talky Talky People from their new album You’re Gonna Need A Little Music.
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