New Mills and Marples

Moored overnight at New Mills and spent the next day exploring the Sett Valley Trail & Millennium Walkway.

The town of New Mills is set in an area of spectacular natural beauty standing above a natural rocky gorge, known as The Torrs, where the River Sett joins the River Goyt. The gorge was home to a number of cotton mills for nearly 200 years.  The Torrs Riverside Park - the park ‘under the town’ – extends to two miles and is a superb place to walk and learn about the natural and industrial history of the area.

Part of this trail was interrupted by what The Guardian newspaper described as ‘the last inaccessible place in England’.  The solution came in the form of the £550,000 Millennium Walkway, a 175-yard aerial walkway spanning the otherwise inaccessible cliff wall.  It’s a stunning design.

The Torrs

The Torrs

 

The Torrs



The Walkway

The Walkway

Old Mill overlooking The Torrs

We reached Marple locks on Tuesday 21st, probably one of the most scenic set of locks we have encountered in the last four years.  We were very lucky, just after the third lock we met three Canal Trust volunteers who stayed and helped us down the remaining 13 locks.  They were absolutely great. 

On our way down the locks the well-known hotel narrowboat, the Duke & Duchess, was on its way up with their holiday guests.  Duchess got its tiller caught in a lock gate and the guest that was helping didn’t realise there was a problem and opened the paddles.  Somehow Duchess became flooded and the last we saw of her, the crew were frantically bailing out.

The Marple Flight

The Marple Flight

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'Duke'

At the foot of the flight the splendid Marple Aquaduct carries the waterway almost a hundred feet across a steeply wooded ravine, through which travels the River Goyt. Alongside stands an even loftier railway viaduct.

Marple Aquaduct

 

Marple Aquaduct

Ashton-Under-Lyne next stop