Wonders of the Peak

Buxton Museum & Art Gallery

Local History

View From The Parapet

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As small towns on the edge of the Peak District go, New Mills doesn’t seem to have anything special on its ordinary-looking surface. Walk just a few steps in a downwards direction though and all of that changes.

Running right below the main shopping and residential streets is an astounding natural feature – The Torrs. Our trail ventures into this deep gorge cut by two powerful rivers, the Goyt and the Sett.

This is a great spot to take in an overview of our journey – and this is an overview, in every sense! The dominant old industrial building one hundred feet below is Torr Vale Mill, with the River Goyt swirling past it in a dramatic curve. Next to the mill is the railway line which links Greater Manchester and Sheffield, via a two-mile long tunnel under the high moors of the Peak District.

Torr Vale Mill © Simon Corble

Hanging precariously between the two and directly over the raging river is the newest addition to this complex landscape. It’s just a thin ribbon from this distance, but will provide the highlight of this trail’s end…

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The Millward Bridge

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This small wooden bridge was built in the early 1970s when the whole of The Torrs was reimagined as a “riverside park”. It is named after Dr Millward who was the chief proponent of the ambitious plan.

The view of Torr Mill from Millward Bridge © Simon Corble

Before Dr Millward and his team started campaigning in the 1960s, the entire complex of mills and bridges had fallen into such a terrible state of ruin and pollution that the whole gorge was effectively closed.

Long before then, the leat water continued its journey over the River Sett (below) via an aqueduct and on into Torr Mill. This is not to be confused with the huge Torr Vale Mill we saw from above, though it was just as big.

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The Old Weir

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This old weir, charming though it is, was much taller when it was constructed in the eighteenth century. Now turn to the other side of the path. What was the purpose of the strange iron mechanism with the low arch just behind?

The sluice and double arched bridge © Simon Corble

The smooth wide track we walked along just now wasn’t built for the passage of feet, but water. With a weir forming a dam in the river, the flow was diverted along this channel, known as a ‘leat’.

The horizontal shaft there was part of the winding gear for a sluice gate, the remains of which are sticking up from the ground directly below. The sluice gate was an iron barrier that could be cranked up or down to control the amount of water flowing into the diversion.

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The rock face in the Torrs

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What a complete change of atmosphere down here at the bottom of the gorge! The noise of the town is completely drowned out by the cascades of water. The sound is echoed off these tall stone cliffs and massively impressive viaduct arches.

Sandstone cliff and viaduct © Simon Corble

Take a look at their stonework and then back at the rock face. Yes, it is indeed the same kind of rock, a tough sandstone. All of it was quarried right here. What would have been a much narrower gorge has been made wider from quarrying, leaving quite a smooth surface – now a proper challenge for local rock climbers.

One of this sandstone’s features is variability; some of it is coarse-grained, suitable for those massive blocks in the pillars, while elsewhere it is fine-grained and ‘flaggy’ – in other words it can be split into thin slices. Stone floors and even roofing slates for houses and mills could be made from this type.

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The Confluence with Black Brook

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Here is another major convergence of streams, adding yet more power to the River Dane as it carves its way down towards the Cheshire Plain. This is where Black Brook joins the river. Look in the water and we can see how Black Brook got its name.

If there has been a lot of rainfall, the water may look like strong tea, without milk. This dark brown colour comes from peat staining the water. Peat is found on the high moors where both the River Dane and Black Brook have their origins

Black Brook is fed on one side by water running down from the back of an escarpment called the Roaches.  Their name comes from the Norman French word ‘roches’, meaning simply ‘rocks’. There are some dramatic cliffs and spectacular wind-sculpted rock formations up there – well worth exploring another day.

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Inside Lud’s Church

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Spend a few minutes simply taking in the atmosphere of this incredible place; the mossy walls, the clumps of fern, the absence of direct sunlight. There are hidden niches and side-aisles too, so have a good explore.

It is not hard to imagine that it must have been a centre for pagan worship long before the arrival of Christianity. There are even signs that modern day pagans revere the chasm, from the little offerings you may spot here and there. It is a deeply hidden place.

Lud’s Church is sometimes cited as the inspiration for The Greene Chapel in the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Read the poem however and the mysterious chapel turns out to be a grassy burial mound well north of the Mersey. It is true, though, that the anonymous author hailed from this region and many evocative local place names, such as Wildboarclough, find echoes in the poem.

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