Trespass Trail 8 - Hayfield
8. One third of the Derbyshire Constabulary, under the personal command of the Deputy Chief Constable, was reputedly in and around Hayfield on the day of the trespass.
As the trespassers returned to the village, they were faced by massed ranks of police stretched across Kinder Road. Five ramblers, including Benny Rothman, were arrested by policemen accompanied by keepers on Kinder Road and taken to the Hayfield Lock-up.
There they discovered a further rambler, John Anderson, who actually opposed the mass trespass but had been held at the scene of the scuffle, where he claimed to have gone to the aid of the injured keeper.
Then as now, Hayfield has a good choice of pubs, cafes and restaurants.
The Trespass Trail now heads back towards New Mills. Cross the river bridge in the centre of the village and walk down the track to the left of the church. Carefully cross the A624 at the pedestrian crossing and head to the left of the ranger station to the Sett Valley Trail, a bridleway to New Mills which follows the route of the former railway branch line which closed in 1970.
The Trail takes you through Birch Vale, which had the only station on the line between New Mills and the terminus at Hayfield. Most of the bridges on the former railway line were removed when the Trail was constructed but one, over Watford Bridge Road, New Mills, remains.
About 500 yards after crossing the bridge, a tarmac path with street lights crosses the trail with a walled cemetery to the right (SK 004858). Take this path to the right – the cemetery is now on your left – cross the river bridge and take the left fork by the Pineapple Inn to climb up High Street. After passing the Mason’s Arms, fork to the right up the steep short Cross Street.
The imposing Victorian splendour of New Mills Town Hall is facing you. Cross the road and walk a short distance up Hall Street, to the left of the Town Hall, to the former police station on the left, opposite the town hall/library complex (SK 000857).
>> Trespass Trail 9 - Police Station
