The town of New Mills is quite new as a tourist attraction, but let it be said that when the local council developed the area, it spared no expense to provide several wonderful attractions for visitors, notably ’The Millennium Walkway’ of which they are justly proud.

New Mills has played its part in the industrial revolution, where it became a centre for the cotton weaving and printing trade.

At around this time, the people worked long hours every day and for very low pay, and yet this industry lasted until quite recently, but now the mills have become both silent and empty once again.

In this day and age, it can be imagined that these mills will no doubt see life coming back to them by way of town apartments.

They are, after all, situated within the very beautiful Goyt Valley and the Torrs Riverside Park where the visitor may wander at their leisure amongst the woodland surroundings of the river Goyt itself.

It is within this very park that the visitor may find the country’s first ’Archimedes Screw Hydro Electric scheme‘.

Funded by the sale of shares, this fascinating scheme began operating just recently. It now generates enough electricty to supply half the needs of the nearby Co-op supermarket.

New Mills and its busy shopping area is served by both buses and two rail links, one of them is at New Mills Newtown on the Buxton to Manchester line.

Formerly, another railway line ran eastwards towards Hayfield and although now long since removed, it serves today’s visitors as a wonderful long distance footpath, known as the Sett Valley Trail, between the town of New Mills and the village of Hayfield.