New Mills Walkers are Welcome are one of the many local groups that make our town so special.
Visit New Mills enjoy supporting them both financially through our weekly Quizits and also in promoting their events and successes in making New Mills a focal point for walking – here is their annual report for 2020
Summary of Activities in 2020
After an optimistic planning meeting in February 2020, we were unable to continue with our planned activities like organised walks and our regular meetings. Due to the restrictions, most of the regular community events that we usually take part in were cancelled too. New Mills Heritage and Information Centre closed, so members of the public could not obtain paper copies of our walk leaflets.
During the early part of the year we were limited to promoting walking on our Facebook page and Mailchimp. Later in the year we were able to develop activities and collaborate with other groups to promote Walkers are Welcome and our town.
1) Footpaths
During 2020 our Footpath Surveyors completed 55 comprehensive footpath surveys and undertook maintenance and repairs to 10 of them. This included stile repairs, vegetation clearance and improving signage.
Here is an example:
This stile was reported to us on Facebook – the two picture show a before and after view
2) Publicity and leaflets
We were able to retrieve our leaflets from the Heritage Centre during the summer and have distributed them locally. Sadly subsequent restrictions on cafes and bars have limited the number of leaflets that have been used.
We printed 2 new leaflets – the Rail Ale Trail and Trees in Mousley Bottom and Goytside Meadow. All our leaflets are available in download versions on our website.
During the autumn we were invited to contribute walk information for new Information Boards and a New Mills information leaflet. These leaflets are also available locally ond on our website.
The New Mills Walkers are Welcome Facebook page has been well used this year, and our following nearly doubled during the year.
We did one led walk during 2020, the New Year’s Day walk. Since then we have produced two video walks, Mills of New Mills and Goytside Meadows.
At the end of the year we put 4 local walks on our website as we were unable to do the planned New Year’s Day walk on 1 January 2021 due to lockdown.
3) Co-operation with other organisations and groups in the New Mills area
During 2020 we developed stronger links with other groups:
We produced a new leaflet with Transition New Mills, about Trees in Mousley Bottom and Goytside Meadows. This is a self led leaflet and was promoted during New Mills Festival.
Also during the Festival we produced a video walk, Mills of New Mills, for peopel to follow on Facebook.
Following on from the Information Board and new New Mills leaflet, we have been working with Active Derbyshire and Pedal Forward New Mills to improve awareness of healthy outdoor activity accessible for all in New Mills.
We have links wth other local groups, New Mills History Society, New Mills Natural History Society, Visit New Mills, and the local councils.
4) Membership of National Walkers are Welcome
We have maintained our activities and continue to be active members of the National organisation. Mike has been a mentor for other Walkers are Welcome groups. We met with the other local groups, Disley, Hayfield and Bollington in January 2020 at Bollington to share knowledge and ideas.
5) In conclusion
Many thanks to all our supporters, who have contributed to Walkers are Welcome during the year. We are proud to have an enthusiastic and hard working group who have continued to show commitment to the contribution Walkers are Welcome can make to the health and welfare of New Mills residents, as well as support local businesses by encouraging visitors once conditions allow.
Mike Daniels – Chair Secretary
Jeanne Daniels – New Mills Walkers are Welcome