A SATURDAY IN NEW MILLS Please obtain a Wayfarer Ticket in advance either from Chorley or another staffed station in the Greater Manchester area. Alternatively, you can obtain one by post from Travelshops Manager, 9 Portland Street, Manchester. M60 1HX. Prices until April 2000 are:- Adult £6.60, Child or O.A.P. £3.30. Cheques should be made payable to GMPTE. A fascinating introduction to industrial history. Saturday has been selected because there are no restrictions on the use of Wayfarer tickets on that day. Catch the 07.29 train from Blackpool South and book a day return to Chorley. Those travelling from North take the 07.19. Change at Preston to the 08.10 fast service to Manchester. You arrive in Piccadilly at 08.50, and hurry along for the 08.57 Buxton train from which you alight at New Mills Newtown at 09.24. There is a 3/4 mile walk to New Mills town centre and bus station. At the rear of the bus station, take a path to The Torrs and the Heritage and Information Centre. Collect some very useful leaflets and then descend steeply into the Torrs – "The park under the town" – a dramatic gorge which includes weirs, mills and ruins. Retrace your steps to the bus station and catch bus number 358 at 10.41 to Hayfield. You arrive there at 10.57 and can now explore the Sett Valley Trail –a two and a half miles route created from the former railway line. You can be as energetic or as relaxed as you wish, and there are picnic tables and an Information Centre. The return bus, 358 to Stockport, leaves at 12.06 and reaches New Mills bus station at 12.24. A welcome half an hour’s break before catching bus number 24 at 12.55 for a superb scenic ride to Macclesfield via Kettleshulme and Rainow. Arriving in Macclesfield at 13.44, cross the road and head for the railway station. Your rain leaves at 14.04 and you reach Piccadilly at 14.30. Change here and catch the 14.51 which arrives in Preston at 15.45, and in North at 16.14. The train for Blackpool South leaves at 16.28. Once again Don many thanks for an extremely interesting day out. It just goes to show what can be seen just a few miles down the road. This could be the last one of these articles for a while – Don needs a well earned rest from all this globetrotting!! Thanks for the marvellous input (Ed).
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