|
Hayfield is a village in the highest ground of the Peak District and offers the best approach to Kinder Scout which reaches 2,088 feet. On the journey there can be seen the Kinder Waterfall with the Mermaid's Pool at its foot.
Much of the high plateau is a private grouse moor, but large areas are open for walkers, climbers and ramblers by access agreements which have been made with the landowners.
Standing over 600 feet above the sea, on the banks of the vigorous little River Sett, Hayfield is busy making paper and printing calico. Like the rest of the village, the church suffered from floods before it was rebuilt in 1818, for a lusty stream flows beneath it.
The new church was built on the old foundations, nd the level has been raised, the pillars of the old arcades being shortened to serve as props for the new floor. The chancel was added in 1894.
In the church is a fine marble bust of Joseph Hague, sculptured by John Bacon. Born at Hayfield, he began life as a pedlar, carrying his wares till he was able to afford a donkey; in 1717 he went to London and there made a fortune, which he gave away. It is said that when his own 12 children died, all before they were 21, he adopted another family. He ended his days at Park Hall, a house of 1811 to the north, below the moors, and he was buried in Glossop church, where this bust was originally set up.
At the rebuilding of the chancel there the bust was placed for safety in the lock-up, where all was well with it until one night it had a drunken man for company and he, enraged with the silence of his white companion, set about it savagely. It was then rescued from its indignity and set up here in memory of a village boy.
Further east will be found the area known as Derbyshire's Lake District,the string of three reservoirs, Howden, Derwent and Ladybower, which run through Derwent Dale. The scenery of the whole area is never less than magnificent and occasionally awe-inspiring.
The Sett Valley Trail provides a traffic free route of some two and a half miles for walkers, cyclists and horse riders between New Mills and Hayfield. The former New Mills to Hayfield railway line was purchased from British Rail by the Derbyshire County Council in 1973 and following reclamation work has been re-opened as the Trail. The Trail passes through attractive countryside in which can be found the remains of the textile industry once so prominent in the Sett Valley. Many public foorpaths and bridleways connect the Trail to local hamlets and unspoiled villages.
Adjoining the Trail is the Torrs, a spectacular gorge at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Sett, running through the centre of New Mills. Beyond the Torrs, the extensive footpath network in the Goyt Valley offers a veriety of routes to suit all tastes.
|
