Day out in the north-west Peak District
Buxton and New Mills
© Geoff’s Rail Diaries 2021
Geoff’s Rail Diaries
26 July 2022
An eastbound TPE 185 scuttles along
the former MR main line.
We find lunch (Derbyshire oatcakes -
most enjoyable!) before we find the
walkway, and as we approach the
modern structure, threading the man-
made gorge between the old mill and
the railway, a westbound freight
passes above us (Dowlow Briggs Sidings to Ashburys)
Third piece of luck - our train to Manchester is about 20
minutes late! Luck? Yes, it’s going to run non-stop to
Piccadilly to make up time! Just minutes after we get to the
latter, a train from Milford Haven arrives, running late. It’s
going to be turned around almost immediately to form a
Carmarthen train - which should have left before our train
from New Mills arrived. We’re home
again almost in time for tea!
Links:
•
Blog: more on the walkway
•
Cheshire Day Ranger
We needed a day out exploring by rail.
This wasn’t a particularly energetic or
far-reaching exploration, but it was
entirely enjoyable, with one or two
lucky breaks.
We begin our travels on the 09.14 from
Nantwich, travelling on a ‘Cheshire
Day Ranger’ ticket. We’ll be on board
as far as Stockport, where we catch the 10.18 to Buxton. The
area around Buxton station has changed since I last came by
rail (1985 - see ‘Coast and Peak’) - the diesel depot has gone,
and there are modern buildings where the nascent ‘Peak Rail’
preservation project was in operation, on the site of the
former Midland station. There’s still a good deal of rail freight
in the area - our visit (just over an hour) coincides with a
freight - empties from Wellingborough to Hindlow.
We leave Buxton on the train we arrived
on, to travel down to New Mills Newtown
(not photogenic, though the footbridge
looks original). We’re walking to New
Mills Central, taking in the Millennium
Walkway and, with luck, a bite of lunch.
