Friday 18th February 2011 New Mills, Derbyshire

A short walk of 3 miles, testing my sore ankle which has kept me and my boots separated for a couple of weeks.


I did this walk with Anthony and Josie Gibbs who live in Wilmslow and who are regular walkers in the area, especially the Peak District. We drove from Wilmslow to Mellor by way of Marple and parked in the car park of the Pack Horse Inn approaching New Mills. It was a cold and blustery day, totally different from the weather we'd left behind in Wilmslow.

The Pack Horse Inn, New Mills


Unusually, we had lunch first, before walking, as the timing would have been against us to do it the other way around i.e. the pub would have been closed. Quick pint and pub lunch was excellent, then on with the boots and off along Mellor Road before turning right onto a track through farmland and a farm. We walked along the edge of the golf course, passing the Mellor and Townscliffe club house and reached a stony track descending towards Brook Bottom where we passed the picturesque Fox Inn. We resisted the temptation to stop for another pint and passed by (!), heading up the hill out of the hamlet, along the track into more farmland. We kept walking up the incline, past farms and outbuildings until we reached a path at the crest of the hill, before heading downhill in the general direction of the Pack Horse Inn. 

We passed through Castle Edge farm and at the strange house with the castle frontage, we turned right, downhill towards the pub where the landlady reminded us that it was 14:58 and they closed at 15:00! Even quicker half and off back to Wilmslow! Ankle fine and bodes well for more miles this week...






An OS view of the walk is below, courtesy of QUO digital mapping/OS: