The heart of New Mills is the Torrs sandstone gorge where the rivers Sett and Goyt meet. The entire length of the Torrs was developed as an industrial site powered first by water, then by steam and electricity. During the Industrial Revolution New Mills had a significant industry in cotton spinning, bleaching and calico printing. Much of its fascinating heritage remains to be explored, with towering railway viaducts, elegant bridges and the remains of mills on the banks of the river, including the grade II listed Torr Vale Mill which, at 210 years of continuous use, was the UK’s longest running textile mill.
The Torrs Riverside Park is now a pleasant place of recreation: home to the award-winning Millennium Walkway, wildflower meadows running up to the scenic Peak Forest Canal, a rock climbing gritstone wall, and Torrs Hydro (Archie), the community-owned hydroelectric turbine.
