New Year in the High Peak
by Ken Jones
Added to website 15 January 2012
We chose to spend a week in the High Peak of Derbyshire over New Year not because we are walkers or ramblers but because we found a
cottage which we could rent in Rowarth, which allowed us to take our dog and which was only 100 yards from the pub which served meals, and had
a preserved railway coach.
Rowarth is a hamlet about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of New Mills. It is on the edge of the Peak District in the hills between New Mills and Marple
Bridge. It is within the boundaries of the former town.
It is locally famous for the Little Mill Inn,
(Inn website
HERE)
a pub and restaurant which features a waterwheel in the adjacent stream. The 'Little Mill' doubles as the local post office and also has a
Brighton Belle Pullman railway coach which is used as guest accommodation. The waterwheel was replaced in 1930 when the former one was lost
in severe flooding. With all the rain we had during our stay we had to drive through lanes with local flooding.
Rowarth has no railway station, is no longer served by buses and in fact the nearest bus turning area is approximately 2 miles away. It is
nearer to Glossop and Stockport compared with other parts of the Peak District which one associates with the rest of Derbyshire.
However it does have poor signal / reception for mobile phones and Blackberries which is another reason why we chose it.
Railways
Plenty of stations in the area as well as the Buxton to Manchester line and the Hope Valley line, plus viaducts, signal boxes and semaphore
signals. Trains are all operated by northern.
(Railway website
HERE).
We did see some Sheffield to Manchester services using former SWT vehicles, but didn’t get a chance to photograph any of these.
Further information on some of the local railway stations may be found on Wikipedia as follows:
ROSE HILL MARPLE
,
NEW MILLS NEWTOWN
,
NEW MILLS CENTRAL
,
MARPLE
,
GLOSSOP.
1. This is the magnificent bifurcating double railway viaduct crossing the Black Brook, tributary to the Goyt, on which Chapel Milton is
situated. One section of the viaduct diverges and curves to the west whilst the other (built a little later) curves to the east as the line,
coming up from the south, links up with the main line between Sheffield and Manchester. At one time the western section carried express trains
from London (St. Pancras) to Manchester (London Road). The viaducts now carry considerable loads of quarried stone from the works around Buxton.
However during our stay there were engineering works going on further down the line, with no freight trains running.
2. 66147 and an engineers train coming off the viaduct at Chapel Milton.
3. Unit 142012 at Rose Hill Station. This is one of two stations serving the town of Marple and is a terminus of a spur from the Hope
Valley line to Manchester.
4. Unit 150 147 at New Mills Newtown on service to Buxton.
5. 150 228 has terminated at New Mills Central.
6. View of frontage of Glossop railway station. The main building is now a Co-op supermarket and Pharmacy. Glossop is said to be the 3rd busiest
railway station in Derbyshire after Derby and Chesterfield. Not bad for a one platform service to Manchester, or an indication of how rural the
county actually is. The lion still remains in situ on the roof of the former entrance.
7. 323 234 at the single platform at Glossop on the electrified service to Manchester Picadilly.
8. An indication of how many railway lines were in The High Peak with this view of the footbridge over the former yard at New Mills Newtown.
Buses
The main operator in the area is Stagecoach with additional services from Bowers
(more on Wikipedia
HERE),
some other minor operators such as Speedwellvalue
(Company website
HERE)
and some services provided by Derbyshire County Council.
9. Derbyshire County Council bus entering New Mills.
10. Stagecoach service to Stockport leaving New Mills bus station.
11. Sign at New Mills bus station looks more like a nameplate from a railway locomotive.
12. Stagecoach MX08 GJJ on stand at Glossop.
13. Speedwellvalue S720 KNV on stand at Glossop for service to Stepping Hill Hospital. This hospital was in the news in 2011 and more
recently about possible deaths from alleged contaminated saline solutions.
14. Very nice public transport information at Glossop.
15 above & 16 below. Bowers service in Glossop
17. Double Decker in High Street Glossop about to turn into one way system serving the bus stands and railway station.
18. G523 WJF on service to Stepping Hill Hospital turns into High Street in Glossop after leaving the bus stands near the railway station.
19. Bus turning circle at end of Howden reservoir which has a service on Sundays and Bank holiday Mondays when the road is closed to cars.
20. Timetable information at end of Howden Reservoir.
21. Stagecoach V116 MVX at reversing site some two miles from our base in Rowarth.
Car 89
This is a motor brake Pullman third from Brighton Belle set 2051 later renumbered as set 3051 preserved in the grounds of the Little Mill Inn
opposite our cottage and used in warmer weather as 3 double bedrooms. It rests on bogies, which may or may not have come from the same vehicle.
It was built in 1932 by Metropolitan – Cammell of Saltley, Birmingham.
22. Works plate on car 89.
23. Front end of car 89.
24. Remains of interior of cab of car 89.
25. The Pullman car from rear.
26. rear plates and pipes on car 89.
A Ken Jones contribution to Focus TRANSPORT.
Visit Ken Jones' railway website
HERE
Other articles which include the Derbyshire Peak District on this website:
UP HILL AND DOWN DALE
,
PEAK TIME TRAVEL,
TRAVERSING THE PEAK WITH TRENT
,
GET YOUR FIX ON ROUTE 66,
ECCLESBOURNE VALLEY RAILWAY
,
LAST BUS TO MANCHESTER,
DERBYSHIRE IN THE 80s & 90s
,
X67 HISTORY
. . . and on TRANSPIRE website:
DAY OUT IN THE PEAK DISTRICT