The Abandoned Hayfield Railway | Peak District Ghost Line

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]Today I'm at Newill Central Station.

[00:00:02]Takes you off towards the Hope Valley, towards Sheffield that way and behind me towards Manchester, but there is something down there that a lot of people may not be aware of. There is a tunnel, an abandoned tunnel, and that takes you up the Hayfield branch. It's been out of use for a very, very long time since 1970 as a direct route. The line is almost 3 mi long. There's two stations, bridges, and of course the tunnel, which lead us back towards New Mill Central Station. So, I'm going to begin my walk at Hayfield Station. It's where that used to be. It was a single platform. Sadly, I believe all the buildings have gone, but I'll try and find you some historic photos when I arrive there. So, here was the site of Hayfield Station, a single platform. And of course the terminus of the line just over 2 and a half miles it is I believe the entire line. So yeah just less than three miles beyond there was also the industrial line that went off to build Kinder Reservoir from that 1903 to 1910 I believe that was constructed.

[00:01:06]Beautiful place. You should be looking at some drone footage of that right now.

[00:01:10]I'll go again sometime I believe. Now then the station closed I think it was the 3rd of January 1970. So few years after all of those beaching cuts and whatnot. So it did manage around about 100red years in use, didn't it? Or just about. Hayfield station once resided where the car park now sits in Hayfield just off Station Road. It would open to passengers on the 1st of March 1868. The branch and the station became the joint property of the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, which would later be the Great Central and then the Midland Railway. Interestingly, it closed to goods before passengers 15th of April 1963 that was taken away before eventual closure to passengers on the 5th of January 1970.

[00:02:00]Got some stone retaining wall over there on the left. It goes down a considerable distance and that retaining wall continues onto the left. We're going to pass through this gate and it will get us on to what is now known as the set valley way. Believe it was Darbisha County Council that purchased this route off uh British Rail in 1973 to turn it into the walking route that we've got today.

[00:02:41]And it does look very very lovely going forward. Quite straight to begin with too. I will also attempt to get the drone up when I can, but rather treelined at the moment. I might need to go alongside the track bed when permitted to do so. That's Blue Bell Wood on the right. Big Nature Reserve down there. I believe this was probably some kind of crossing at some point.

[00:03:04]Yeah, we've got old gate posts here.

[00:03:07]Look on the left and on the right. I have to admire the old stone into the ground too. Goes into like a private road and there's also a residence just there. And it was known as Slack Crossing. Takes you up onto New Mills Road. And indeed down to the valley where there are few prophecies.

[00:03:29]Yes.

[00:03:56]The next station isn't that far away.

[00:03:58]Maybe around about a quarter of a mile between there and here. We'll see what else we can see. Hey, we are in quite a deep cutting on the left hand side at least. Slightly was potentially a ditch to the left, but that rock face is rather high. And come out the other side. It's an embankment.

[00:04:18]Dropping further down is the valley.

[00:04:21]Although you can't see it there because because of the mound there, but if I run up here, I'm hoping to keep you out of the wind. There we go. Look at that.

[00:04:32]Some water down there. And water treatment works. Beautiful, isn't it?

[00:04:39]That's rather nice down there. Even got its own little island in the middle.

[00:04:45]Quite a big lake, that. So, this was most likely a foot crossing at one time.

[00:04:48]You go to many places.

[00:04:51]Lantern Pike, never heard of it.

[00:04:53]Obviously, New Mills a mile and a half away now. And then we've got Chinley in four miles. And we've already done a mile back to Hayfield. You can see where the access was up to the road as well.

[00:05:07]That stone wall has made a return. Look.

[00:05:10]So, this is Birch Veil. There's a station here 1868 that opened. I believe it was a couple of months after Hayfield Station, single platform. uh the month of May. I believe this one was opened as opposed to March that Hayfield was Birch Veil Station was located again off Station Road. The railway passing over this via a bridge. The bridge has now long been removed, but the station was opened in May 1868, closing on the 5th of January 1970. And unfortunately today, as per Hayfield, no traces of the station are now visible.

[00:06:08]This old stone stepped cor. It's really, really tiny.

[00:06:14]It's relatively straight going forwards and the surface is rather nice, too. So many of these greenways end up getting really muddy and boggy and ruined eventually, don't they? So, we've done about a mile and a quarter now. Not seen any bridges yet, have we? I don't even believe we've crossed over any bridges either. There are some more to come, I believe, as we get towards New Mills.

[00:06:38]Another former crossing and another one with the stonework in the ground all the way up.

[00:06:59]Look at that. That's pretty special, isn't it?

[00:07:03]old gate posts with the fittings on them and another one on the right. Passing by on my right, there used to be a bleach works. There was mills. These mill ponds, which the mill ponds are still there, probably related to them ponds that we saw further back as well. It's all gone. But as you're looking at it now on the maps, you can see where it used to be alongside this beautiful railway line. So, this was another crossing, Kemp crossing. And I guess where these gates are, that's where the crossing used to be. Completely out of use now by the looks of it. Although there does seem to be a bit of a path going down there. These crossings do seem to have names that are like surnames. I wonder if they was local land owners or the farms that led directly off these crossings. This is High Hill Road. See where the drainage channel was down the left. Look. So he was right about that earlier. Uh there used to be more waterworks down here and a pavilion, believe a sports field.

[00:08:04]There's some cottages and also some waterworks and a filter bed. And over the other side, more of this lush greenery. There's little offshoots of paths absolutely everywhere. And I've not really taken the time to go and have a look. I don't really expect we're going to see much either. But saying that is a great big hole just here. Now, what on earth could this be?

[00:08:28]Look at that. You can't really make it out, but there's a bit of a I think it's a drainage tunnel. An old collapsed drainage tunnel. That's what's down there cuz there's there's an opening just there that's slightly stone lined.

[00:08:40]But as I was saying down here, there were mills straddled all the way along cuz the river's down there and mills directly into the town. Actually got to an overbridgeidge, Watford Bridge Road, I believe that is down there. Look at that little bit of detail going across there. It's quite spiky, isn't it? Not sure there's actually a way down there to have a look at it, though, unfortunately.

[00:09:02]Go across to the other side. I might see something. No, just a tight corner. I'm wondering now if there is a way down somewhere cuz I've just seen a chat with a dog up here and he's disappeared.

[00:09:17]There we go. That's quite a large span, isn't it? So, managed to get down and that's been really really worthwhile. Quite a bit of moisture coming through it though. I don't know what damage that might be doing.

[00:09:32]Carefully go across the other side of the road. Yeah, there's a lot of water ingress in there, isn't there? Wonder how often that's inspected.

[00:09:41]That was definitely worth coming down for. I've got the feeling there may be a culvert down here.

[00:09:50]Oh my, look at this.

[00:09:52]That's a treat, isn't it? I love how you go from that woodland area and then there's this nice stone cascade. I've managed to get myself down. Try not to slip over. See how slip it actually is.

[00:10:06]Oh, no. No. There's plenty of insects, but I think I should probably make an attempt to go through it. It's quite steep. I don't want it to be too slippy and end up on my backside.

[00:10:48]Now I've tried to get a couple of feet in. It's just too The gradient's like that and it's just it's just too slippy.

[00:10:56]It's just not worth it. Still a good find, isn't it? Nice bit of reminder of this railway which used to run above.

[00:11:04]Had to go away from the railway line at this point. Uh, we've come down into this dip, this sort of valley up ahead.

[00:11:11]We should be picking the track bed up again for about the last half a mile.

[00:11:15]Not sure what happened to the railway line. Um, but it must have been built on. So, it does appear that this section that we've not really seen the railway, it's all been filled in and landscaped because coming down here, we've got ourselves a nice stone bridge. Hidebank Road, I believe that is going over there. Plenty of bird song around here. Just to show you, look that we do in fact dip right down.

[00:11:42]Hayfield Tunnel is just out of sight down there. If I turn you around, look, you can see that incline as we go below the bridge and still dropping down now. So, it may not be until we get to here on the outside of the bridge. And it is quite a hefty stone wall going up there that we are at the original track level and it has been infilled for quite some distance. And this unusual angle and image by David Blower shows the hide bank bridge. Look track has all been removed but it is yet to be landscape but there is evidence in the background of it all being changed and built on. We can zoom in a little bit. You may notice there is another bridge in the distance. Zoom in even further and there you go. Look, there's actually three bridges. All of these have now been removed and that shows us where the track bed has in fact been landscaped and filled in. See the tunnel portal of Hayfield that is just here and the bridge of Hidebank is just here. The tunnel curves around and pops out down here and then New Central Station is just on the bottom left. And that is Hatefield Tunnel.

[00:12:59]What a nice way to almost finish this walk. I mean, you could get down there, but you're not going to see over the top. So, there's little points in doing so. Can you see that little pin of light in the middle? That's the little bit of light coming off where the main line was, where it used to join onto the active line between Sheffield and Manchester. I did attempt to shine a torch into it, but it made absolutely no impact whatsoever, unfortunately. You have to also admire where they blocked it off. They've used stone rather than bricks. I mean, you ain't really getting through that little bit of blue brick on the left hand side and on the right hand side to flush up that steel fencing.

[00:13:38]Good to see this. So, this tunnel closed to traffic in 1970. It' be the 3rd of January or might have been the fifth, one or the other. But the tunnel didn't go out of use. It was in fact still used for trains coming from Manchester that was going as far as New Mill Central and they would lay over in this tunnel out of sight ready to then go back to New Central and start a new service back to Manchester. You really have to admire that stonework, don't you? The different angles that it's all laid at. It is so so intricate.

[00:14:42]And what I do find baffling with this railway line being closed is that In fact, for 2 and 1/2 miles, they could have left it running. It could have, even if it just served Hayfield station and they closed the other intermediate station, it had been a hive of activity for locals and walkers. And at the same time, rather than trains idling over just outside of New Mill Central until they go back to Manchester, why not have just continued it as a direct Manchester Hayfield and back to Manchester service.

[00:15:10]Look at these. These are quite um substantial, aren't they?

[00:15:14]really really big. Beautiful scenery as well down there. And there's the vioduct going over the river set just there. Sheffield off to the left and New Mills and Manchester off to the right.

[00:15:25]It's about to go through the tunnel just there.

[00:15:54]But now we've got to pick up the other side of the two tunnels. I incidentally finished off here in another video when I spoke about the four arched bridge just the other side of the town. I've also done another video here um talking about New Mills, how it's a small town, but it's got two stations and four different railways including the one we've just walked.

[00:16:24]What I can do is show you both tunnels.

[00:16:26]Look, the one on the main line going back towards Chinley, the Hope Valley, and Sheffield, Hayfield Tunnel, that's poking out on the left. Can look down there at the signal box, New Mills Central signal box. The track towards Hayfield and also towards Sheffield, that's down there. And I've got this photo I managed to capture. look of the tunnel when I went past on the train. Very very fortunate to get that. And here I am back at New Mill Central Station after walking that Hayfield branch.

[00:17:24]Now, this would have been one of the units that for a good number of years used to sit and basically sleep over, tick over inside Hayfield Tunnel. When that got took out of use, they started using a siding or a little loop down there to store the units in until there was required. And thus they now come into platform two and then depart in the opposite direction back towards Manchester wrong line before crossing over onto the correct line heading towards the city. And zooming in we can see that siding on the right hand side.

[00:17:55]So the trains would arrive into platform two and then reverse back into that siding on the right and once they depart they'd then cross over at those point work there and head towards Manchester on the left track. And it's fantastic to see the old station buildings still present, looked after, and I'd say they were possibly still in use, although the windows look like they need a bit of a clean, so I'm unsure. It's padlocked up as well. Not really sure what goes on in there. There is a ticket office that's open and the ticket man or the station master or station manager resides within the waiting room just through there.

[00:19:09]It's a beautiful line. It's a shame it's not still open because the access for the walkers and people living in those towns, it' be very beneficial and very low cost to maintain compared to some other railways, wouldn't it? Just being under 3 mi long. Any more suggestions like that, drop them down below. Thank you very much for watching. Don't forget you can also follow me on Patreon now.

[00:19:28]I'll put a link in the description.

[00:19:29]There's almost daily updates and sneak previews going on in there. See you in the next one. Bye for now.